Finding Balance
by BigHead
Summary: Post S7: Faith is sent to investigate strange occurrences in Africa, surrounding Xander, and his Slayer training observation, along with mysterious rogue Slayers. Written with tdmaster and Joshua the Evil Guy.
1. Search and Rescue

**Title:**Finding Balance  
**Authors: **BigHead / 3D Master / Joshua the Evil Guy  
**Feedback:** / 3d.masterchello.nl /  
**Website:** http:members.chello.nl/jg.temolder1/  
**Rating:** R (For violence)  
**Keywords:** X-over Naruto/BtVS drama, angst, action.  
**Spoilers:** Buffy/Angel up until finale, Naruto up until chapter 238.  
**Time frame:** Post Buffyverse series finales, Naruto: just after Sasuke leaves.  
**Summary:** Post S7: Faith is sent to investigate strange occurrences in Africa, surrounding Xander, and his Slayer training observation, along with mysterious rogue Slayers.  
**Characters:** Xander, Faith, Oz, Dawn, Kurenai, and the rest.  
**Disclaimer:** Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its characters do not belong to any of us, but to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy Productions. Naruto and related concepts are owned and created by Masashi Kishimoto.  
**BigHead Notes: **I can't seem to refuse anything out of those guys. And I love Naruto as well.  
**3D Master's Notes:** Naruto X BtVS, it was only a matter of time! 

_Chapter 1: Search and Rescue_

(by BigHead)

**Tanzania – Three years after the events depicted in Chosen**

For those people who knew the stunning beauty driving the jeep over the African savannah, her current actions were not on par with her personality. The absolute lack of anything even remotely close to a road, the heat and the weird mission would be enough for her to be cursing since she turned the jeep on for the first time some hours ago. But the only sounds that came from her mouth were the occasional grunts when the jeep entered a larger hole or stumbled over a larger bump. And her eyes only paid occasional attention to the GPS screen attached to the dashboard, completely ignoring the beautiful landscape and wildlife.

The mind of Faith, the second oldest Vampire Slayer, was still stuck in a loop that started almost a month ago.

-- O --

**Cleveland – The recent past**

She entered the room covered in demon goo, vampire dust and bruises. None of this mattered to her, since the goo and dust would be gone in a few minutes after her shower, and the bruises would be old history tomorrow morning. But what was bothering her was the man standing in the other side of said room, calmly browsing a book.

"Yo, G-Man! What brings you from the land of tweed?" she asked to Rupert Giles, head of the Watcher's Council and a friend.

"I had hoped that when Xander went to Africa, that infernal nickname would have gone with him, but no. I should have thought to not have high hopes on anything," he said, but grinned. "How are you, Faith?"

"I'm . . . going, G. . . iles," she said, a bit nervously. "How's B? And the Squirt? Is everything all right?"

"They are fine. And the last question is the reason why I'm here. How are you, Faith? Really?"

Faith knew exactly what he was talking about, the 'Incident'. She instantly changed her body posture to one of defiance, her natural act of defense. Giles noticed it.

"Calm down, Faith. I'm not here to reprimand you or anything like it. I just want to hear what happened. As a friend."

Faith relaxed a bit. "Mind if I sit?" she asked, eyeing the sofa on the other side of the room. Giles nodded, and accompanied her, sitting on the other side of it.

"So?" he asked, the tone reflecting more care and worry than she would have expected. She sighed.

"We, I mean, me and Woody, we aren't in the best of moments. We have been arguing a lot, y'know?"

"About what?" he asked, albeit already knowing some facts from the other Slayers that lived in the same house.

"I guess everything. Small stuff. Big stuff. We don't talk much more nowadays . . . I guess it's been a while since we have a good talk, without shit hitting the fan."

"I know this is none of my business, Faith, but if it is so bad, why do you still stay with him?"

Faith looked away for several moments. "I-I'm not really sure, G. Perhaps because of the past? He was . . . is a nice guy. Sometimes. I guess our time is coming to an end, just that."

Giles looked at her slightly shaky hands. She was nervous. "Can you tell me what really happened?"

A longer moment of silence ensued, before she spoke again.

"Before I left for patrol, we argued, y'know? I can't even remember what about. I was so pissed I almost broke our room's door. Rhona went out with me, and while we were walking, I calmed down, but something kept nagging me. I still don't know what. So, we were walking and we hit a group of seven vamps and two demons. We started fighting them, but something kept building inside of me. Anger, hatred, pain . . . I don't know, but when a vamp scored a good hit, I snapped. I let my stake fall and started pummeling the bastards."

Faith's frame shook like a leaf in the wind, and she held her knees as if the world would end any moment now.

"I've never felt like this, Giles. Ever. Not even when I was evil. It was like Slaying, only . . . I don't know . . . tripled. We get angry when we fight, I guess it's like fuel to us, but this . . . Anyway, we were fighting, or better, Rhona was, while I was playing Mike Tyson with a demon's face. The bastard was already out cold, and my knuckles were hurting, but I kept hitting him. Rhona tried to stop me, but when she held me, I almost struck her. I stopped inches from her nose, Giles," she said, and broke out in tears.

The normally stoic Watcher approached her and held her strongly in his arms, while speaking calming words in her ear. She cried for several minutes more, until finally gaining some semblance of control.

"T-thanks, G," she said, still sniffling.

"You're welcome. Mind if I ask you some questions about it? It might help."

"S-sure."

"You said anger, hatred. Against Robin?"

"N-no, Giles. I thought that at first, but it wasn't because of him. It wasn't directed at him, it just . . . was."

"You also said it felt like Slaying, correct?"

"More like Uber-Slaying," she said, and at that precise moment her mind decided to remind her of something. "I felt this once, G."

"Where?" he asked, curious.

"Fighting the Turok-Hans with B while Billy Idol was imitating a flashlight," she said, and made a small smile over the comparison.

"W-well, I guess it should be. After all, those were unthinkable odds."

"But that night wasn't, Giles. It was normal stuff, go Slay, go Hungry, go Horny. Not go Nutcase-y."

"C-certainly there must be some explanation somewhere. I will check some books in here and ask for HQ to check a few things for me. But now it's late and I guess you want a shower quite badly."

"Yeah. I can't imagine how you can handle the smell. You don't think I'm crazy, do you?" she spoke, the last part a murmur barely heard.

"Well, you are a woman, which in my opinion is a quite normal setting for craziness. And you are also a Slayer, which only adds to this factor. But no, dear, I don't think you are insane, just over-stressed. Come on, show this old man the cot where he's supposed to rest his wary frame."

"Do you think we have cots? Those bastard Watchers don't give us enough money to buy lipstick, and you want us to have _/beds/_?" she said all that smiling that thousand-watt grin of hers. This interplay was an old joke, reminding Giles from their travels in the old school bus, while searching for demonic activity in the States they passed. Said bus now was parked on the side of the Cleveland Slayer's home, as some sort of trophy or something. "Come on, Laura left for a while to visit the parents, her room is free. Where are the bags?" she asked, standing up.

"Rhona has them," he said, following her. "I also came for another reason, but we can discuss it in the morning."

"Problems?" Faith asked, while knocking on the other Slayer's door. The Cleveland Watcher's HQ was an old school, which was converted into a training center slash hotel slash library and still school for the Slayers which took care of the Cleveland Hellmouth. So, every Slayer had her own room, with her own bathroom and some other amenities, like computers, telephones, TVs with cable and so on. The mentality of the new Watcher's Council was that Slayers were people as well, so they deserved to be treated as such. This proved to be quite effective in the long run, since Slayers' lives were measured in years now, instead of just a few months.

"Not exactly, or at least I don't think so," Giles said, while Rhona opened the door to her room. He thanked her and picked up his suitcase, and they walked to the room he was going to use. "You know Xander is still in Africa, right?"

"Yeah. I talked to him a coupla months ago. He sounded happy."

"He is. From him come the best-trained Slayers, the most dedicated ones. They are specialists in teamwork, and they know some quite dirty tricks."

Faith knew that as well. Zanna, the Zimbabwe-born Slayer, which lived in the third floor, was one of the top Slayers on her teams. An expert marksman, with anything from a pistol to a sniper rifle, who knew demolitions as well and gave Faith a run for her money on the mats. And one sweet little girl on top of it all. The Slayers had a saying among them that if a 'Xander's Girl' was among them for a mission, they all would come back alive.

"So, what happened?"

"Some years ago, soon after he went to Africa, he called me one day to ask for a favor. He asked me to give him 'carte blanche' to run Watcher's operations in Africa, no questions asked. I argued with him for some time, but he made a promise to, how you say it 'deliver the goods'. And he did, we have amazing proof of that. And that's how it went until now. He made a few reports over time, nothing too little, nothing too much, just enough to keep me and the rest of the Ruling Board happy."

"And?"

"Two months ago, he and the rest of the Slayers which were training with him disappeared. Or gone underground, I don't know. The entire training compound was empty, not a speck of dust left behind. We sent a couple of Watchers to search for them, and that's were things get interesting."

They entered the teen's empty room, and Giles looked around. Stakes, a battle axe and some other sharpened objects shared space with stuffed animals, make-up and posters from several young men from rock groups to actors. He shook his head. Slayers.

"You sure she won't mind?" he asked, the gentleman in him always in the fore.

"Nah, I know Laura. If I tell her you stayed in her room, she'll probably put the bed in an altar and pray for it, saying you slept in it," Faith said with a grin.

Giles sat on the bed, and removed his glasses, the hands mechanically cleaning them.

"Anyway, the Watchers go to Tanzania, where the compound was, to try and find what happened. One night, while on patrol, they find a Slayer fighting some vampires. She killed them and then she ran away when the Watchers tried to talk to her."

"That's odd. They threatened her?" Faith asked, weary. She knew how some Watchers could be, sometimes.

"No, John and Karla are new school, and smart people, they didn't do it. What was odd wasn't even the running away, it was the fight in itself. She was fighting twenty vampires, Faith. Alone."

Faith's jaw fell. She was the second most experienced Slayer on the planet, and she certainly couldn't face twenty vampires all by herself.

"H-how?"

"John said that the vampires made a circle around her, and then she did something with her hands and some sort of light came out of her, paralyzing them. Then she calmly proceeded to stake them all."

"She cast a /_spell_/? Slayers aren't spell casters, our powers inhibit it."

"She did not. Karla is a spell caster of some ability, and she said she didn't feel a speck of magic being used. Whatever she did, came from another source."

"That's wicked weird. Another Slayer power?"

"We don't know. They searched more and came back empty. Two days after they reported back to me, I received an e-mail from Xander, which said, and I quote 'We're ok. Don't bother sending anyone. X.'"

"So, that's exactly what you won't do, right? Question is, why me? Why not Red, or B?"

Giles sighed. That was the hard part of him coming.

"Faith, there are several reasons. First, Willow is rather busy with our Witches' Coven, and Buffy isn't exactly suited for this mission. She's rather adamant in her opinions nowadays, and I fear for her reactions if she finds Xander and doesn't like what she finds out."

"Again, why me? I'm not the top person in X's trust list, even if we made peace with each other."

"The other reasons. You are our most experienced Slayer, and you know Xander and how he thinks better than anyone now. You can hold you own in a fight, if it comes to it, and I know it won't. And the last one, I guess you need a break."

"Me? A break? Why?"

"I guess you are suffering from stress, Faith. Since Sunnydale, you have been fighting non-stop. I know you think you need to prove something to someone, but this is rather foolish. You are burning out. Take some time, go somewhere else."

"A mission is not exactly 'time out', G-Man."

"This one is. Finding him shouldn't be such a problem for you. We have some clues on where he must be hiding. Talk to him, get some answers and come back, it's all. No Slaying in sight, the African continent is rather calm in that front."

"Twenty vampires is?"

"A fluke, I guess. It's the largest group we ever had reported. And it was dealt with."

Faith thought about if for a couple of minutes. "Can I take Woody with me?" she asked.

"You think it's wise?"

"Should be a chance to patch things up. I have to try, at least," she said, hopefully.

"I guess it shouldn't be a problem. I'll send someone to overview things around here."

"'k. When do we leave?"

"Let's talk about that in the morning, ok? I need my jet-lagged sleep and you still need that shower," Giles said.

"Yeah, 'k. Have a nice night, G."

"Thank you."

Faith walked out of the door, and after she closed it, she murmured. "No, Giles, thank /_you_/."

-- O --

**Tanzania**

Faith was still remembering the events from the rest of that night, when the GPS started beeping, indicating she was arriving at the last known place where Xander had been seen. It was a small village, of a few huts made of clay and hay. Some children ran away when they saw the jeep approaching, and a single, tall man, came out of one hut. He was dressed in typical warrior fashion.

Faith stopped the jeep near the man, and climbed out.

"Jambo ::Hello::," she said, one of the few words in Swahili she learned to try and talk to people.

"Jambo, mchipukizi. Mambo? ::Hello, pretty lady. What do you want?::," the man said, showing Faith the whitest teeth she had ever seen. It was a big contrast with his dark skin.

"Upekuzi ::Searching:: . . . white guy . . . Xander," she said, losing her vocabulary with the Masai's answer.

"So, you must be Faith," the man said, in an impeccable, Oxford-accented English. "You are prettier than Xander told me. Welcome, my name is Mboto, but you can call me Mike."

Faith's jaw fell all over again, and she got the stupidest face like, ever. The Masai, Mike, grinned like a maniac. Faith looked him in the eyes and saw the mirth in them. So, the face changed from stupefied to pissed off. "You knew who I was. Why the charade with the language?"

"Xander said you still owed him a couple, and I could collect one. I have something for you. Come with me, it's cooler inside."

The Slayer followed the tall man back to the hut from where he emerged. They entered, and Mike went in search of something.

"How did you learn my language?" Faith asked, while the man still looked inside some pots.

"Went to college in Dar-El-Sallam. I'm a geologist. Ah, found it," he said, giving Faith a sealed envelope. Problem is, said envelope looked old, far older than a couple of months since he had disappeared.

"When did you see Xander last?" the Slayer asked, while opening the envelope with her name scribbled on the front.

Mike thought it over for a few minutes. "Almost a year ago. He brought my sister to visit."

"Your sister is a Slayer?"

"Yes, she is."

Inside the envelope, there was a single sheet of paper, with one single line of text on it. Coordinates for some place. Faith showed the Masai the paper.

"You know these coordinates?"

Mike studied them for a minute, before answering. "If I'm not mistaken, those are near the Kilimanjaro."

Too many questions popped up in Faith's mind. Time to have a few answers.

"Since when do you have this envelope?"

"Almost three years now."

That caught the Slayer. How . . .?

"How did Xander know? And it's addressed to me. You don't have any other envelopes, do you?"

"No, just this one. And how he knew, I guess the vision quest showed him."

"Vision quest?"

"I guess I must explain it better. You see, three years ago . . ."

-- O --

**Tanzania_ – _Three years ago**

The man arrived in the village close to sundown. At his side a native guide, which spoke with him in rapid-fire English. From what Mboto could gather from that distance, the one-eyed white man was looking for someone special.

Mboto was smart enough to know that the special one was Kalinda, his baby sister. Since the day that she almost broke his back from hugging him, he knew something was terribly wrong. The nightmares, the inhuman strength, it was too weird. They had talked and decided to hide those things from the rest of the village. Mboto approached them, and introduced himself in Swahili. The guide introduced himself and the white man as one Xander Harris, coming from the United States.

He invited them to their hut, and the moment the white man looked at Kalinda, Mboto knew that the man had found what he was looking for. Surprisingly, he didn't force the issue, nor demanded to talk to the girl. They sat on the ground, and Xander began to talk, while the guide translated it to them. Mboto wasn't bothering with the translation, he was focusing on the American's reactions. What he heard surprised even him, born in both the mysticism of his people and the knowledge of white civilization. Slayers, Vampires, Demons, Watchers, Hellmouths, it was all too much information and too weird to understand in one go, and he knew the American was speaking the truth. No one invented such a story and told it with such emotion reflected in it. So, he invited them to stay for the night and that they should talk again in the morning.

They accepted, and then they mounted a barrack outside the village. Mboto and his sister talked for a good part of that night, finally coming to a decision. She couldn't stay out of it, the world needed her, and it would be a chance for her to learn new things. She was an avid seeker for information, much like her big brother. He didn't like it, though, so he needed to talk to the American. He walked out of the hut, going in the direction of the barracks.

Surprisingly, he found the man leaning against a tree, looking to the east. Mboto approached silently.

"She's your sister, right?" Xander asked in an even tone, without turning.

"How do . . ." Mboto asked, surprised.

"I know she's your sister? Or that you speak English?"

"Both, I guess."

"You either learn a few things after seven years in this business or you die. Since I'm talking to you and like to watch the sun rise, you can guess what I picked."

"Sorry about the charade, she's my only sister."

"I can understand. In your position I would probably do the same thing."

"She said she wants to go."

Xander finally turned around and looked at him.

"That's good," he said, smiling. Mboto noticed that the smile didn't reach his eye.

"I thought you would be happy."

Xander sighed and turned back to watch the sunrise. Problem was, sunrise would still be in a couple of hours.

"I guess I am, to a point. She will have a better chance of survival, by training and learning with us. On the other side, I guess I'm really sorry I have to do this job. She should have a normal life. Too many people have suffered already," he said, hand involuntarily moving to his patch.

"You lost faith," Mboto said, and it wasn't a question.

Xander looked back at him, his face answering more than his mouth. "I guess I lost something different, I lost track of where I'm going. In this business you live one day at a time, but we always look to the future, you know?"

"I guess so. Otherwise, you lose track of what you are fighting for," Mboto said.

"Yeah. I just can't seem to look beyond today. We've fought so much, and we've lost so much that I'm beginning to think it's not worth it."

Mboto was surprised. The defeated man who was standing there looking to the east was so much different than the one that was speaking in the hut several hours ago. He could leave his sister with the man on the hut, but not the one he was talking to now. So, he had to do something, and he knew exactly what.

"I may have something that can help you. You ever heard of vision quests?"

Xander almost made a joke out of it, but refrained himself.

"Some things, yeah. I read somewhere that Native American cultures do it. Why?"

"This is not an exclusivity of the American Indians. Some African tribes do it as well."

"Yours do?" he asked, understanding the way the conversation was going to.

"We did, but our holy man died some time ago, and no one knows the entire procedure. But there is another village a couple of hours north of here where you can do it. Want to give it a try? It could help you re-encounter your way."

Xander thought it over for some minutes. "It can't hurt. Can you give me directions?"

"Sure."

-- O --

"So, he went?" Faith asked.

"Yes, he did. He came back a week later with a worried face, talked to me for a while, gave me the envelope, took my sister and left."

"He looked worried? What happened? What he spoke about?"

"Yes, but I believe haunted is a better word for it. He said he saw some terrible things in his quest, and he had to take actions against it. He told me you would come looking for him in the future, and he gave me this envelope. When I asked what he saw, he said only one word."

"What?"

"Death."

Faith muted. In their business, those 'impending doom' stuff were daily occurrences, but she never heard Xander speak like that. He was always the optimistic, even in the worst of times, which was his best characteristic. For him to be this apocalyptic, he surely had seen some serious shit.

"I gotta go. Can you get me some water?" she asked, already worried in finding her . . . friend?

"Sure. And he asked to tell you one more thing, if you were alone."

"What is it?"

"Watch your soul."

Faith froze. Two minutes passed before she could utter another word. "You serious?" she asked, trembling.

"Absolutely."

"I-I gotta go," she said, still shaking. Mboto was wondering what could scare a Slayer so badly.

"I'll fetch your water. Wait a minute."

He brought a vase filled to the brim with water for her, and she filled her own canteens. She said some hasty goodbyes and left, promising to return at some later time. When the jeep was far away, a teenager appeared from another hut, calmly walking to his side. He looked at her face, and like so many times before, the shivering of looking into light gray, pupil-less eyes took him.

"::You looked in her?::"

"::Yes, I did. It's worse than Xander thought.::"

"::You trust him with that?::"

"::I trust him with more than that, bro. I trust him with my soul.::"

"::So why all this cloak and dagger stuff?::"

"::Security. We aren't fully prepared yet. She'll be pissed, but we will all be safe if everything goes as planned.::"

"::What now?::"

The Slayer known as Kalinda smiled warmly at him. In that, he saw the little girl he would always love.

"::Someone will pick me up in a while. Until then, I want to spend some time with my big bro.::"

Mboto smiled, and gave one last look in the direction that Faith had left, offering a prayer of safety and well being for his gods in her name.


	2. What's going on?

_Chapter 2: What's Going On?_

(by 3D Master)

Faith took a sip from the water, as her jeep hobbled through growth. She put the canister aside, and then pulled out her PDA with GPS positioning, and checked her coordinates with the ones Xander had wrote down. She was still on course, she hadn't accidentally veered off: good. She looked around, seeing a herd of elephants casually walk to her right, some zebras to her left, and one was being chased by a lion. "Fuck me," Faith muttered, the realization of just how far off the beaten track she was slamming into her like a ton of bricks. She had been too preoccupied with unpleasant memories. She shook her head; demons, vampires, incorporeal evils - a few animals shouldn't pose a problem to a Slayer . . . although she better keep an eye down for the little suckers having venom.

"Get a grip," she told herself, tossing aside another memory that returned after her thoughts about venom; a slow working agonizing venom. She shuddered, and then did get a grip. She saw a mountain loom in the distance, and guessed that's where she was headed.

Half an hour later she indeed arrived at the mountain, and the coordinates were about right. Driving partially around, and then up a path, she found herself going around a corner with a wider area behind it. Bushes and trees were to the right of the corner area, mountain behind it and everywhere else. Faith drove her jeep until the middle of the little area, and looked around with a deep frown. There was nothing here, was there?

She pulled her stake from the driver's seat and stuffed it behind the waist of her pants. That done, she got out, and after checking the ground for snakes or whatever she looked around, taking a few steps forward till she was in front of the jeep. Why in blazes would Xander send her here? Why would he and the Slayers under his command and tutelage come here anyway? It didn't make sense! She pulled out her PDA and checked her coordinates again; she was right there wasn't she? Or perhaps . . . She walked straight forward till she reached the mountain wall. She looked up, and around. On a hunch she put her hand on the stone and slowly moved up and down. Her eyes widened; there was something there! She was pretty certain she wouldn't be able to feel it without her Slayer senses; how the hell would a normal person find it? Or was that the point? Nobody would find it?

She felt around a bit more, pulled on a protrusion, nothing happened. She moved her hand more to the right, and then her eyes caught something; a tiny pattern seemed to emerge from a bunch of seemingly random dents. She moved her hand to it, and her thumb fit perfectly in one indentation, her index finger in another, and onward till all her fingers fit in it. Faith took a deep breath, her heart hammering in her chest. This was just too fucking weird. She caught herself just in time; that breath had worked.

She ran back to her jeep, pulled out a short sword and sheath with belt, and put it around her waist. Then she got an extra stake and stuffed it on the opposite side of the first one behind the waist of her tight green utility pants. A flashlight was next. She then pulled out her guns that had been laying on the driver's seat next to her stakes at the ready, and put her double shoulder holster on, over her white low-cut spaghetti-strapped shirt. She checked her guns - two .45s fully automatic - then checked the ammo, and walked back to the mountain wall. The guns felt good; previously she had never really had a need for it - she was the Slayer, and relished it too, the adrenaline, the actual fight: guns just seemed too tame, killing from a distance. Prison had mellowed her out though, and when she and her team had found themselves outnumbered six to one, by demons, vampires and whatever else had been in that group that had come after them, and Zanna - Xander's Zimbabwe born slayer - had pulled out her guns and taken down a few handfuls of vamps either by shooting out their knees or heads saving them all by leveling the playing field with that action, she had made a point of getting the girl to teach her and Slayers about guns. By the time they had dealt with the others, the vamps that she had shot were starting to get back up, but they were still far too out of it to resist staking.

Faith reached the mountain wall again, and took a few deep breaths. She placed her hand back in the indentations, and pushed. A moment nothing happened, and then when enough force was reached, the circular pad deepened into the mountain with a heavy clunk. Faith blinked, nothing more happened: pushing didn't help. She tried to twist clockwise, and the pad turned. Once a quarter of a circle finished the pad suddenly started moving onward on its own. Faith pulled her hand back in reflex and took a step back, watching as the circle continued turning with ever-increasing loud noises of things twisting, and turning, and moving and clicking. It was really a quite cliché Indiana Jones moment, Faith reflected, tensing up. Things started moving left to the pad. A large rock door like structure appeared - or rather the seams between it and the mountain rock did. Then the whole rock door moved deeply into the mountain, before pulling upward and disappearing from sight, showing a dark passageway. "This is absolutely not five by five," Faith told herself, feeling apprehensive. Everything about this felt wrong.

Carefully but steadily Faith entered the cave turning on her flashlight. The walls of the narrow passageway were too smooth to be natural, with the exception of a lot of chips that she couldn't place. The differently marred drawings on them settled it as being unnatural. With a pounding heart Faith continued to move forward, until the cave became lighter, and it wasn't her flashlight. She hesitated a moment, and then continued. Lighter and lighter it became until she finally reached a round enclosed chamber. Blue-white light came down from some crystals in the ceiling. In the middle of the circular room there was a slightly raised circle, which seemed to be cut in four sections. Different patches dried blood were smeared all over the room and the circle. Faith froze when she looked at the circle; flashing back to a different circle, and all those Turok-Han running and climbing up to them. The circle here wasn't the same, but it was close enough to give Faith the shivers. She took a few more careful steps, entering the circular room, and . . .

Light suddenly came from the circle, and four quadrants slipped away and down. The light disappeared, and instantly a grey monster came out. It looked like that Gollum freak, only more vicious, with bigger teeth and muscles, and a lot more dangerous - especially with its glowing red eyes. An instant later another one of them jumped from the circle, and another, and another, and another . . .

Faith looked shocked, especially when all the demons hissed at her, and obviously considered her a good welcome home feast. The demons screeched, and obviously started to pounce toward her. She pulled her guns then and fired the first directly through a demon's forehead. It screeched, dropped to the floor, and then lay still. The demons started surging forward, and Faith ran back out the way she came, firing back at the every growing mass of demons that were coming at her across the floor but also the walls and the ceilings - their claws cut into the rock.

Soon she arrived at the entrance and turned around the corner, needing to reload both guns twice. Shooting around the corner into the cave, she put her hand back into the pad that was now deeper into mountain. After a few moments of trying the pad turned again and reached a critical point, starting turning on its own. Some of the demons came surging out screeching, and in a fluent motion she let go of one of her guns, pulled her sword, and decapitated one. Fear and adrenaline gripped her as the she could hear the mechanisms turning, and the doorway slowly closing. While this happened she was hacking and slashing. She dropped the now empty gun, stabbing another demon that came at her to die. In a quick free moment, she picked up her other gun again, and was able to get four more deadly shots before it was empty and the door was finally closed. She kept her eye on the closed door for a few more moments, and then she leaned back against the wall, breathing with relief, and slowly let herself sink down amidst the demon corpses. She kicked a few directly below her aside so she could sit. She looked around at the carnage she had wrought, then at the scratches and deeper cuts where the demons had managed to get to her. Suddenly there was a bright light and a whoosh come from behind the hidden doorway.

Faith looked back and up at the door breathing hard. Why in blazes would Xander send her here? Did he want her dead? That just couldn't be? Or had he really taken his Slayers down there to try and stop it, and sent her the coordinates so everyone knew the danger was here . . . that would mean they'd all be dead, and why clean up all your stuff before such a mission? It made no sense. Nothing about this made any sense. She got up slowly, holding her sword. She took her guns back, reloaded them, and after a moment thinking over it, she once more opened the doorway. When it was open, the corridor was clean, none of the corpses she had killed inside were there - that light a cleaning method. She then pulled the corpses that were lying outside in, and closed the doorway again. Once more there was a light a short while after it was closed.

Faith shook her head; this didn't make any sense. "What the flying fuck is going on!?" she screamed out her frustration. Then she noticed something: something was pinned to one of the trees to the side. That hadn't been there before, or had it? She walked over, and found an envelope. She took it, and then opened it. A new note was in there, saying, 'Come to Masumbue.'

"What the hell?" Faith asked and looked around, trying to see if she could see anyone - she couldn't. Masumbue was where Xander had had his operation. But had been deserted, hadn't it? This whole deal was getting even _/more/_ weird, and given she had just been at a Hellmouth or some friggin' seal just sealing away a bunch of demons, that was saying something. With her heart pounding in her throat, afraid it might be another trap, but having no real choice - she just had to be careful, she got in her jeep. She started it and then drove away.

A moment later a figure stepped casually out of the bushes, greenery disappearing from her to reveal a girl. "It's Diria, she was just here," the girl spoke coolly.

"She figured it out, she didn't lose control, and she didn't need my help," she spoke again. "Yes, I think it's promising . . . she's not capable of detecting an illusion though, she looked right at me too."

"I'm following her," she then confirmed, and nodded. She walked back into the greenery and a few bushes and trees flattened and wrapped around the shape of a jeep. Diria got in, started it, and drove off gently behind Faith. The moment her jeep left the greenery on the side of the mountain, the greenery shimmered out of existence.

* * *

Kalinda returned to her training, and living village. First she went to the one she reported to. Entering the training dojo, she passed a few Slayers in heavy training. Then she went into the small side office and looked at the woman with long raven hair, and red-brown eyes. "And?" she asked.

Kalinda looked at her, shook her head, and said, "It's spread to almost half her body, and not just her chakra. It's started to affect her organs and blood as well."

"Do you think she can get it under control, or is it too late?" the raven-haired woman asked.

"If she starts quickly, preferably right now, perhaps," Kalinda answered seriously.

"Not yet, we have to test her intelligence first, see if it is being affected," the woman answered.

"You think it does?" Kalinda asked.

The woman looked at her for a moment, and then said, "Judging from the stories about Buffy, and seeing their correctness given who's told them, yes." Kalinda nodded, and then was told she could go clean up, and start her training.

* * *

A two-hour drive and an almost empty tank later Faith arrived at Masumbue. She looked at the small town in front of her rented car. Faith was glad this was a dirt road, asphalt would be like a baking plain in this burning sun, even now - with the sun setting - the heat made her uncomfortable. The town itself held about 10,000 people, and had a diameter of about three kilometers, but wasn't a perfect circle. To the left and behind her there was Savannah, forward and to the right of the small town there was a light tropical forest. The town itself was made of stone, and further down the road - about center of town - Faith could already see shop signs; obviously this town was rather modern, in comparison to where she had been before; although compared to western standards, especially considering the lack of hardened roads, it was still primitive. She opened the little dashboard cabinet, took out a booklet and checked Xander's address. It would supposedly be empty, but she would check.

Once she had the address, and she punched in her GPS as destination, she carefully drove into the town. She looked around, studied the buildings, and especially the people - if they even were people, she knew of a few demons that could appear human - to see if she saw something that might give her a clue about what the hell was going on. After five minutes of slow driving, several times going left and right, she reached what was considered the outskirts of town and found what was supposedly Xander's abandoned house. The house was nice, had a fence and a rather big garden. It almost had a 'white picket fence' feel and size to it, which meant it would probably be considered _/huge/_ by the rest of the town's and African standards. Faith shut down her jeep, re-checked that she had reloaded her guns, and only then slowly got out of her jeep. After opening and closing the fence, Faith came up the front door, but decided to go around the white house. Windows were covered, she found, as if someone inside didn't want the sun to shine in - in short it didn't seem abandoned. Had someone else chosen to inhabit the house? The windows were all closed though, so perhaps it was uninhabited after all . . . or perhaps they had air-conditioning. When she rounded the first corner she heard a light thumping, and she carefully walked onward. Reaching the back yard, she could now identify the thumping as an engine sound, and it seemed to be coming from a shed. Well, that settled the inhabitation question. She examined the shed without going closer, and saw two electric cables come out the wall of the shed, and then disappeared underground right away.

She looked around more, and the house had three steps leading up to the back door, which incidentally had a window not covered by anything it seemed. Carefully she walked up the steps, looked through the window into a kitchen, and saw . . . Xander . . . casually preparing dinner. Faith's eyes widened, and kept looking at Xander for a few more seconds, before knocking on the door. Xander looked up, and smiled when he saw her. He came over, opened the door, and with a smile and a frown asked, "Faith! What are you doing here?"

Faith looked into his one eye - the patch really made him look rather mysterious and deep. He looked damn good. Then she spoke, "I could ask you the same thing. You're supposed to have disappeared."

Xander raised his eyebrows in further surprise, and stepped aside - even though the sun was still out, old habits died hard. As Faith walked in he spoke, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Faith turned around to face him, and leant back against the round kitchen table. "Giles sent me here to go look for you. He said a couple of months ago, you and your Slayers had just disappeared, but your still here. He also told me about some Slayers with odd abilities."

"Oh, not _/that/_ again," Xander answered leaning back against the counter, taking a moment to check the cooking food; the smell of which incidentally was getting Faith hungry - ravenous was more like it. Faith give him a questioning look, and with a smile he said, "I don't know why Giles would lie to you about me not being here, but "rogue slayers with powers" story is starting to come out my nose." Xander actually made the quotes in the air, and continued to do so as he spoke, "Some seven or so months ago a few "people" reported seeing a few and the "council" asked me to investigate. I did: there are _/no/_ "supergirl slayers". But the reports kept coming in, I kept telling there were none, and apparently those who came here to pick up a Slayer, or deliver one, or for other reasons were given the alternate order to keep their eyes open, and have apparently seen something. _/I/_ have yet to see one, I _/can/_ tell you that I saw some odd stuff when I first got here too." Xander pointed up and finished, "It's the heat, when you're not used to it yet, you start to see things; especially if you try to look for things that aren't there, you get to see the very things you're looking for, even if there's nothing - many a times did I jump away from nightmarish monstrous snakes, before my body got used to the heat."

Faith finished listening to Xander's story, while she was mauling through recent events. If she couldn't trust Giles to tell the truth, who the hell could she trust? Since getting here she was sent on a giant roller coaster ride, wait . . . "Why don't you know I'm here? You had me sent a letter two years ago, to Mboto, with coordinates to another Seal."

"Huh?" Xander wondered.

After some searching through her backpack, she produced the letter. She gave it to Xander and said, "Look, it's old."

Xander quickly looked it over, and smiled, "Old paper doesn't mean old writing, Faith." He gave a few chuckles, and Faith looked both pissed, annoyed and stupid. "It's the standard test we give all girls sent here when they arrive alone. 85 don't even find the lock. It shows how well they are already in tune with what they are. As an added extra bonus, those who come here with a cocky, or an optimistic 'look how cool this adventure is, I'm a super hero' attitude very quickly get an immediate attitude adjust by a good dose of reality; fighting against overwhelming odds, and most likely die young."

Faith shook her head, Giles lying still imbalanced her, and she asked, "Isn't that a little dangerous, not just to the Slayer but to the world as well? And I could have died."

Xander shook his head with a smile, "The place is rigged with several big explosives. If something should go wrong, or something actually seeks to set the things in that cave free, we just have to push a button - the seal and everything will go sky high, after which the mountain comes down upon it. You were never in any danger too; you were given a guard who knows the place perfectly, and here she is too."

A black girl arrived at the back door in the kitchen, and Xander grabbed a baking pan, shaking the contents about. "Diria, exactly why wasn't I told about Faith coming here?" Xander asked with a powerful command voice, that made Faith shiver - a good shiver, but definitely a shiver - if it could make her, the one it was not aimed it shiver, it had to be far worse for the Slayer. Judging from Diria's jittery reaction that was exactly the case.

"W-well, uh, we knew you would never let us put her through the test, and we wanted to play a little prank on her; you were never in any real danger, I promise," Diria spoke a little shaky.

"I never saw her," Faith said, rather surprised.

"That's my area of expertise, _/not/_ get noticed," the black-skinned Slayer told Faith with a sly smile.

"You and everyone in on it, will go through several severe disciplinary actions. Go find all of them, and get them at six sharp tomorrow morning at the square, **now**," Xander ordered, and the Slayer was off like a bat. "I'm sorry about that, Faith," Xander apologized, "they didn't let you get hurt did they?"

Faith shook her head, "A few scratches, already almost healed. I just need a shower, and- . . ." Faith's stomach growled loudly.

"Food, I take it," Xander said with a grin that made Faith blush with embarrassment over her traitorous stomach.

"Xander, food ready yet?" a female's voice spoke as the door to a hallway opened, admitting a beautiful raven-haired woman, slightly dripping and holding a towel. She only wore a g-string and was topless, which - after surprisedly taking in Faith - she remedied by tying the towel around. The towel incidentally didn't even come low enough to cover the women's entire ass, the lower rounding stayed visible. The two women took each other in, and Faith was truck by her odd reddish eyes.

"Kurenai this is the infamous Faith Williams. Faith, this is Yuuh Kurenai, my girlfriend," Xander said, making Faith looked shocked. That was a new bombshell, in more ways than one.

The women shook hands, and Kurenai spoke, "I know who she is."

"You were in on it?" Xander accused. Faith was curious about this outcome.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," the beautiful woman spoke, looked Xander deep in his eyes, and started a deep French kiss with him. She broke the kiss again, and said, "Sorry?"

"Oh, for . . . Go help Faith get ready for dinner - clothes, shower, bandages if necessary, you owe her that much; dinner will be ready in fifteen," Xander said shaking his head in defeat. "And Faith, hang the guns on the rack, okay?"

"Come on," Kurenai said and pulled Faith along.

Xander returned to his cooking, then turned around and looked at Faith's retreating back. His one eye suddenly changed - to a red one with three black dots in it. He looked at Faith, seeing her aura now, her life force. It was the Slayer-characteristic dark purple color, except from her belly the purple had turned utter black. It covered almost half of her body, a quarter down, and a quarter up. Throughout the still purple aura Xander could see small flecks of black, sometimes appearing, and sometimes disappearing. His eye turned to normal again, and he sadly shook his head.

The two women were on their way. "You don't seem African," Faith pointed out, as she was lead into the hallway, toward the stairs and an upstairs bathroom no doubt.

Faith hung her guns on clothes rack, and Kurenai spook, "I'm from Asia."

Faith's eyes widened at that and then as they continued up the stairs, she said, "You don't seem very Asian either."

Kurenai chuckled and said, "I'm from a rather hidden part of Asia. On several islands and pieces of main land there are a few counties who carry very different names locally then is known in the rest of the world. Each of these countries has an hidden ninja village, founded between a century and a few centuries ago with the exception of one very recently founded - the villages took in anyone of any disposition who had any kind of special skills or was willing to put in the effort to become an integral part of the village. I'm from Konoha, the Fire County's Hidden Leaf Village."

"What are you doing here?" Faith asked the woman half-suspicious, half-curious as they reached the top of the stairs.

The other raven-haired woman, that was a few centimeters taller than Faith, answered with a smile, "Apart from Xander you mean?" Faith gave Kurenai a glare that told her Faith was not amused.

"I mean, how did you and Xander meet, and got . . . acquainted with each other," Faith clarified.

As Kurenai gestured to the bathroom, she explained, "Xander came looking for us, he'd had some kind of vision, of which I still don't know all the details. We met, hit it off, and decided to come with him; help with training the Slayers and all that - he's just too irresistible."

Faith smiled, she had heard a few of the potentials-made-Slayers gushing over Xander like that after he was gone. Well, not quite, but they had most certainly complained about the lack of good-looking, bare-chested, hot-smelling sweaty men doing carpeting, or any good-looking men in general. It seemed that the old guard of Watchers before a new one was recruited was not very appetizing - apart from Giles in Faith's opinion, but the Slayers hadn't seen enough of him to see that. Now that there was a new guard recruited the complaints were far less - at least when it came to Xander. Now when the other Watchers were out they were complaining about them being missed. Slayer drives - sexual included - should not be underestimated. "So he really _/did/_ have a vision then? Apparently without me in it," Faith said, not knowing if she should be relieved or disappointed about that.

"Yes, could you give me your keys? Then while you shower I can get your luggage," Kurenai requested with a smile. Faith handed over the keys without reservation.

* * *

Dinner had been tasty, as well as uneventful. They had talked about political situations, and resulting danger areas in Africa, with Tanzania in particular which was rather stable in comparison - a reason why Xander chose to put his training facilities here. Whether conditions, sleeping arrangements - guest room - other requirements had been other topics of the talking. Faith also asked Kurenai if she just grew up in a village, or if she actually was a ninja. Yes, she was a ninja. Faith asked her about what she could do. Her answer: trained from the moment she could walk: she could fight, climb high and fast, very strong, run extremely far and fast, camouflage techniques, illusionary tricks - nothing magical though.

After dinner the first thing Faith did was call Watcher Headquarters, and see what she could find out about Giles and his lie. Buffy was the one she got on the phone after a short hold. #Faith, report,# the senior Slayer's voice sounded from the other side.

"Hey, B, how are you? Nice to hear your voice too," Faith replied sarcastically. How the hell Buffy could still manage to rile her up, Faith didn't know - but no matter how much they connected back in the now crater, she continued to rub the dark-haired Slayer the wrong way. She also knew this wasn't some territorial shit they had kind of discussed, seeing as she has no problems with the many Slayers that came after.

#This is no time for your attitude, Faith, have you found something yet?# Buffy asked across the distance separating them.

"Yeah, Giles lied to me," Faith spoke bitterly.

#What!?# Buffy exclaimed.

Faith nodded automatically as she spoke, "Yep, sent me here 'to find Xander and his Slayers who disappeared two months ago', now I'm here, but no disappearance. They are right here where they are supposed to be."

Silence reigned for a few seconds, before Buffy hissed, #That little . . . perhaps I shouldn't have trusted him just yet! Faith, your real mission is quite simple; there are reports all over the area, and even a few farther away, of rogue Slayers with a lot of strange abilities . . .#

"Yeah, I know, I've heard of them, Xander says they don't exist. I have to find them?" Faith interrupted the senior Slayer.

Buffy's reply came, #Yes, and recruit them if possible. Also find out why Xander is so incompetent at finding them, and if that's true replace him. If he's lying about them not being there, you have to find out why, and replace him, as well as kick him back here.#

"Xander? Lying? About this? I don't- . . ." Faith started.

#Faith, like you just said, Giles lied to you, you can't trust Xander, Faith, don't let yourself be fooled by his nice and sweet helpful attitude - he's betrayed me before, you were present I believe,# Buffy's answer came.

Faith hung her head in shame; even though it wasn't really her fault, or how the hell everyone could have decided differently under the circumstances. The dark Slayer sighed: Buffy was right about Giles and by extension Xander though. She said, "Got you, B, trust no one, and the truth is out there."

#Exactly, call us when you find something, while I go interrogate Giles. I get something from him, I'll give you a call too, bye,# Buffy answered and the phone went dead.

* * *

"GILES!" Buffy's voice screamed as she walked into Giles' London Watcher Headquarters office.

"Yes, Buffy," Giles answered with just a hint of annoyance.

"Why did you lie to Faith?!" Buffy demanded with extreme irritation.

Faith drew himself from his comfortable living chair, and said, "I do believe it was you who protested Faith be sent because she'd trust Xander too much. I took your protest into consideration, agreed with it, and to make her understand she can't trust anyone, not even Xander, I lied to her. Now she's there with a healthy sense of distrust, and also nobody's there 'investigating' Xander who's already condemned him before he or she even starts."

"I should never have taken that time off; I _/still/_ can't believe you people gave him permission to do whatever the hell he wants to," Buffy told him angrily.

Giles told her with a smile, "The best Slayers come from him."

"In firearms usage," Buffy bit back.

Giles gave Buffy a nod of acknowledgment. "Speaking of your time off," Giles spoke friendly, smiling, "how _/is/_ your significant other?"

Buffy grimaced, almost growled, and spoke, "I'll be keeping an eye on you, just in case you're not telling me the truth." Buffy then whirled around and stalked out of the room.

With a sigh Giles sat back down. "Sometimes I wish you had just told me a more convincing lie, instead of telling me the truth," Giles said.

A side door opened, revealing Dawn, who told him with a sad smile, "You guys never did have the stomach for this cloak and dagger stuff." Giles sighed again.

* * *

Faith had no idea what to do now. Xander not trustworthy? Giles not trustworthy? She was pacing in her appointed room thinking things over. She so desperately wanted to speak to Xander, but what if . . . Faith shook her head, as she realized something - she might not know whether Xander was trustworthy, but she did know Zanna was trustworthy.

Faith left her room and went down the stairs. "Xander?" she tentatively called.

"In the living room," came his reply.

Faith went to the living room, taking in his DVD home-cinema set; that and the kitchen only two things truly new. He sat there with Kurenai in his lap, and she asked, nervous about interrupting the two, "C-could I talk to you - alone that is?"

"Sure," Kurenai answered and left them alone.

Faith walked closer to Xander. He patted the place of the couch next to his, and asked her, "What's the matter, Faith?"

Faith sat down, and looked at Xander. "I'm not exactly alright," she told him sadly. Xander looked at her expectedly. "I-I lost control a while ago. I was fighting demons, and I just dropped the stake and went at it with my bare fists - over and over . . . and over. Then it happened again . . ." Faith choked up and tears were in her eyes.

"Tell me," Xander said gently, hugging her close.

"It was the same night Giles came to give me my mission," Faith stumbled out, remembering. "At the time Wood and me were having problems and I thought it may have been me, I thought it may have been both of us, I thought that perhaps we just weren't meant to be . . . in hindsight I'm pretty certain it was all him though . . ."

- - O - -

**That Night**

Faith finished swallowing her late snack sandwich when her phone rang. She got out her phone, turned it on, and said, "Hello."

#Faith, Robin,# the answer came, he sounded out of breath - running. #We're in trouble . . .#

"Where are you?" Faith asked, suddenly alert, an adrenaline surge going through her body. Wood gave her his position. Faith told him they were coming, put the phone away as she burst into the living room of the Slayer house. She ignored the Watcher sitting along with three Slayers watching TV, she simply commanded, "Zanna, Jessica, Drew, let's move. Robin and his team are in trouble, let's go!"

The African, redhead, and brunette were instantly up an about. After a quick delay to the armory, they were off. They went as fast as they could in the rickety van they used. Finally - much too slow for Faith's liking - they arrived at the street with old rundown buildings. The four slayers got out, and after quickly checking the GPS with the homing beacon (another idea coming from Zanna / Xander allowing for quick and easy finding of Slayers in trouble) they charged to the old apartment building. This was the place - although there didn't seem to be any damage done by demons. The four slayers looked around carefully once inside the main entrance. There were some doors, one at least to a utility closet, and to the right of the lobby they were in there was an elevator, and another door next to it with a 'stairs' sign. They raced over to the stairs - any demons were usually in the basement, and with Slayer strength simply jumping down stairs in one bout made them far quicker than any elevator. The moment the door to the stairs clicked closed behind them, there was click and then suddenly a hissing sound. A moment later the surprised Slayers started coughing and then they dropped to the floor. Then a man in a gas mask emerged from the stairs upward, and took the girls with him.

* * *

With a groan Faith slowly came to, opening her eyes. Her vision swam at first, but then cleared. She frowned when she saw the cold, grey ceiling above her. She tried to sit up, but found she couldn't move. She looked left, and her eyes widened when she saw Jessica coming to with a groan as well. The girl was chained to the wall, next to her was one from Robin's Slayer team. With a quick look down and up, Faith found her feeling was correct: she was lying on some form of alter, or slab of stone, equally chained in some kind of cellar. To the right Faith could see Zanna . . . and Robin, the latter completely free.

"Hello, Faith, good that you're awake, yes, yes," Robin said with a smile - a smile that sent shivers through Faith - and not of the kind that made her climb on top of a man.

"R-robin, what are you doing?" Faith asked, aware of two more Slayers coming to, and the fear coming of the ones from Robin's team in waves.

"You'll be the first," Robin spoke turning around and bringing a cart to the front. Several scalpels and other razor sharp implements lay on top of it, as well as several magical ingredients and a spell book.

"The first? The first of what?" Faith said, struggling against the bonds almost automatically, but not budging them one little bit.

"No use trying that, Beautiful, I had them magically enhanced, you won't even budge them," Robin spoke with a grin. Faith continued anyway, as she watched him pick up a scalpel.

"What are you doing?" Faith asked him with rising panic and adrenaline.

"You see, I figured it out; Buffy knew, but she didn't tell anyone," Robin spoke with a sickening grin. "You're demons; Slayers all of them, what gives you your power is a demonic entity . . ."

"No, that's not true," Faith said, struggling harder.

"Oh, but it is, I went researching, spying, after I suspected, and you know why I suspected, Faith, my precious?" Robin spoke with a sweet smile - _/far/_ too sweet. Faith didn't answer, she just struggled, while most of the Slayers just looked at the spectacle in shock. "It's because you damn Slayers are skanks, that's why. You put demons over humans - when you have children you don't even love them. The only thing you can do is fight, abandon your kids, and get yourselves killed by sickening vampires. Yes, I'll bet Mother secretly got off on it, on the thrill that perhaps he'd rape her before killing her first, or just the thrill of suffering a defeat at the hands of a demon. You choose your rapist vampires over your best friends, go to check up on his bumps when one of those friends might be bleeding to death. Your attitudes of superiority over humans. Your flirting with men and even demons just before you kill them - yes, I'm ignored, demons more important."

"I'm not like that!" Faith said desperately, struggling harder. "Flirts mean nothing with a guy, you know that - and with demons it's a weapon, puts them off their game, Robin, please."

"Oh, but I know, Faith, don't worry, I know," Robin said gently, and walked over. He gave her a sweet kiss on her forehead, making Faith relax a bit with confusion. He then gave her a passionate fiery tongue kiss, which she reluctantly returned in complete confusion. Robin stood back up and said, "I love you, Faith, I know it's not you, it's the demon. That's why I'll cleanse you first. The ritual requires a sacrifice - the heart from the possessed . . ." Faith's face blanched and she redoubled her efforts, while Robin continued, ". . . it will remove the demon from the soul, so the soul can go unblemished to heaven, and the demon will be burning in hell. I will set you free, my beautiful, I will save you. I only wish I knew this earlier so I could have saved my mother."

Robin then bent forward, and moved the scalpel to just in between Faith's breasts. "No! NO! Robin NO! Please! I- I- . . ." Faith was desperate as she struggled harder and harder, perhaps it was better to play along. ". . . I know too, Robin, perhaps I've always known. But I don't want to do, there has to be a way to get it out without killing me, letting us all live, Robin?"

Robin looked confused for a moment, and then shook his head, "No, this is the only way." He then lowered the scalpel again, while Faith's adrenaline went through the roof, struggling with every little bit of might she could call upon to break the shackles that kept her hands to the stone slab.

Something inside of her snapped then, and with a roar she pulled. Robin had done good work: the magically-enhanced shackles really were unbreakable to the Slayer, it was just that he forgot about the stone slab. With a mighty crack the stone slab broke and sprang apart where the shackles were screwed into the stone. The shackles and its screws then flew through the air completely unblemished. With a growl her right hand shot forward, grabbed Robin's wrist, and squeezed hard. Robin yelled out in pain, dropping the scalpel. With her left hand Faith wiped it aside. At the same time she let Robin's wrist go, and smacked him aside with her now free hand. She sat up suddenly, not really aware of what she was doing; only the burning, tunnel-vision need to hurt the one responsible burning through her. She grabbed the shackles around her feet and tore at them with a roar. Like before, the stone table blasted apart, and the shackles came loose, also unblemished. Faith then jumped off the slab, and saw Robin already standing with a split lip. He had a new scalpel with which he lunged. Faith grabbed his hand before he could hit her, and snapped it with a vicious yank. As Robin dropped the scalpel, Faith yanked Robin forward and tossed him through the air. He crashed headfirst into a wall next to one of the slayers and crashed to the floor, where he lay groaning on his stomach.

Growling Faith ran over and smashed her foot with all her might in the middle of Robin's back. There was a snap, and Robin screamed out in pain. Faith brought her foot down again, causing a crack and another scream this time. While she was doing this she kept hissing and growling profanities. Then she brought her fists down, each once, feeling her hands slam into the bad guy's back with satisfaction. Then she lunged both hands forward, intent on grabbing his neck and squeezing it until he was dead.

Two more hands appeared out of nowhere though, stopping her. Faith registered the black-skinned hands only as an obstruction, and she put more effort into moving her hands toward the bad guy's neck. Only when they didn't move did she look up - up in the black girl's face the hands belonged to. Her mouth was moving, but there didn't seem to be any sound coming from them, or perhaps there was? Faintly? So very far away? "Faith! It's done Faith!"

"You've got him, Faith! He's already out! We're safe, you're safe! It's over, Faith! You hear me!?" Zanna called out loudly, looking with a little apprehension in the vicious, primitive look Faith had on her face: a simple need to kill, to destroy, to hurt. For a few moments she was even afraid the senior Slayer might turn on her. Zanna wasn't exactly friends with Faith, but she definitely considered herself a companion, a partner. "Faith, you already got him! There's no need to kill him, you got that, Faith? Do you hear me?"

Finally, much to Zanna's relief, intelligence dawned on Faith's face once more, the strength behind her hands slipping away. Faith then suddenly looked down, recognizing the damage she did to _/Robin's/_ body. "Oh, My God!" Faith exclaimed in shock. "Oh, My God."

- - O - -

"I broke his spine, Xan, he'll never walk again," Faith sniffed, while Xander closed his arms tighter around her shoulder. Faith half cried, going closer to Xander, burying her head in his chest, and whimpered, "He was trying to kill me and the other Slayers, which was bad, but he wasn't exactly right in the head. I don't know when or where he snapped, or if he was ever not snapped to begin with, but . . ." Faith looked up, and looked pitifully into Xander's eyes, "Xan, I was done hurting people. I didn't want it anymore, never again. I hated myself for what I did - hated myself. I would never do it again, and now . . . now . . ."

"Shh," Xander soothed holding her close, and Faith broke down fully, crying and crying.

After five minutes she regained herself, and said, "I spent the whole night crying, mostly in Giles' arms, but Zanna came along as well. Th-this thing, something made me go all nuts, all feral, Zanna said- . . . Zanna said you could help me . . . was Robin right? Is there a demon inside of us?"

Xander looked deeply inside Faith's eyes, and said, "I don't know, I don't think so. I'll look into it, thoroughly. I don't quite know why Zanna thought I could help, just like that, but I'll find a way to keep you you, Faith, that's a promise. Tomorrow, I will first teach you the eight brocades Qi Gong exercises, and some Tai Chi, and finally meditation techniques. I doubt they'll solve the problem like that; but they're designed to give you balance, and give your mind and your life force power and some control over your body - it should definitely help till I find a more permanent solution, okay?"

Faith looked up at him, sniffed a final time, and slowly smiled. "Tai Chi? Qi Gong? Meditation? I didn't know there was a Watcher Academy. You were a great fighter Xander, but I can't remember you being a guru. What happened?"

Xander chuckled, and then said, "Oz should be back tomorrow from a mission with his Slayer team. You weren't close to him before or after your trip to the dark side, but perhaps you'd want to apologize to him anyway, for trying to kill his friends and girlfriend and such."

"Oz? He's here? How did that happen? And what has that got to do with you being a guru," Faith wondered out loud, coming steadily out of her funk.

"One and the same story, Faith, one and the same story, want to hear it?" Xander asked her with a smile. She nodded. Xander grinned, and said, "Well, now, let me see. It was just after my vision quest experience, and I can't really tell you about that - too personal and close to home, and I can't really tell where - the hermit didn't leave and hid himself for nothing - and seeing as he came from the Hidden Ninja villages - did we tell you about where Kurenai is from?" Faith nodded, and so Xander continued, "He was extra secretive, so I'll just have to give you the basics. Anyway, this is about three years ago, only two or so months after Sunnydale was reduced to a hole in the ground, and the vision gave the strong notion that I go east. So I boarded a plane to Thailand, which seemed the right place at the time, and land in the capital's airport. That's where I run into . . ."

"Oz . . ." Faith supplied.

"Am I telling this story, or are you?" Xander asked the Slayer sternly.

"You," Faith answered sheepishly.

Xander nodded satisfactory, and said, "That's right, so let me tell the story." Faith couldn't help but smile, and then Xander finished, "and no, it wasn't Oz, it was Dawn . . ."


	3. The Hermit

_Chapter 3: The Hermit_

As Xander went to tell the tale - minus the more fantastical parts - to the Slayer lying next to him on the couch, he remembered./

- O -

**Thailand, Bangkok**

**Almost three years earlier**

Now what? Xander wondered after picking up his luggage. Exiting the airport for one thing of course, but Xander was thinking in broader terms as he walked out of the arrivals hall. So, here he was. The vision and the people in it - figments of his drugged mind - had pretty much told him to go here: 'orient of boxing'. Further it had told him vaguely that 'those he would meet, would lead him to the hidden lands'. Whatever _/that/_ meant. Of course the rest of the visions was suitably disturbing, made sense, and was detailed enough for Xander to accept it as an actual, real, meaningful vision - which seriously sucked by the way.

So now here he was: in Thailand, doing . . . who knew what. He walked into a bigger hall, in the distance glimpses of a cluttered Thai road. He looked around the equally cluttered hall, chaotically filled with people. He sighed, and started walking toward the exit, his missing eye giving him a ghost-throb. As he walked he looked right, and suddenly stopped. He saw a girl, and not just any girl. He squinted, rechecked a third time, and then called out, "Dawn!"

Indeed, he was right. The long-haired brunette whirled her head around, and their eyes - precisely her two and his one - met. The girl's eyes widened with shocked recognition, and then worked her way through the mass of people. Xander did the same, and soon the two met somewhere in the middle. "Great," Dawn told him bitterly. "I _/knew/_ it. I just _/knew/_ Giles wouldn't let me do this mission alone. Why did I even bother getting my hopes- . . ."

"Ho there, Dawn," Xander interrupted her. "Giles didn't send me here."

"He didn't?" Dawn asked surprised, and then furrowed her brow. "Aren't you supposed to be in Africa then?"

Xander smiled at the teen, and said, "Something came up. I can't believe Giles let a seventeen-year-old girl wander in here alone."

"Hey, I can take care of myself - martial arts training, lots of it lately, and I _/am/_ seventeen, it's late for Europeans, you know? Why, a girl in my class went on vacation with just two friends, _/last/_ year at _/sixteen/_," Dawn said, annoyed that she couldn't properly fold her arms across her chest, packed as she was.

"Calm down, calm down, I believe you, I was j- . . ." Xander hastily said; to have a Summers woman pissed off at you was never good.

Dawn interrupted him, picking up on something, and asked, "Wait, what do you mean with, 'something came up'? I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Let's get a place more private, okay?" Xander asked her.

* * *

An hour later they found themselves in a very nice hotel room, reserved for Dawn by Giles, paid for by Watcher Council funds - but not quite, since Dawn exchanged it for a room with two beds. It was rather nice that Caleb had only destroyed the physical building, and not touched several centuries worth of interest built up over among others inherited funds - something expected of all Council operatives: a will in which all their money is left to the Council.

"Ah, nice shower after that cramped plane," Dawn sighed in satisfaction as she came from the shower. Xander had gone first, on insistence of Dawn, so he was already in a set of clean clothes sitting on his bed. He took the seventeen-year-old in, wearing nothing but a towel, and drying her hair with a second one. The towel was wrapped tightly around her full breasts, and her flaring hips were visible. Her face, her lips were quite attractive too - to Xander's shock. He had always looked at her like a kid sister, and good friend - especially in the last year in Sunnydale, and now . . . Xander shook his head, and Dawn noticed it. She delicately turned to regard him and asked, "What's the matter?" She looked down at herself, and back in a quick motion, smirked, and said, "What? I grew up? Am I sexy?"

"Dawn," Xander said. The defeated tone in his voice made Dawn instantly stop her teasing smile. "You're very attractive young . . . woman now, okay? But I have _/no/_ interest in anything romantic with _/anyone/_ right now."

"Okay," Dawn said, and walked over. She sat down next to him, tying the towel in her hair. "I'm sorry. Is it . . .?" She trailed off, not really able to say the name, but she didn't really have to.

"Not just that . . . Dawn," Xander said, his voice choking. He shouldn't really tell, did she still hero-worship her sister? He felt her arm suddenly around his shoulders, and her head landed against her. He couldn't help but smile, and grab her right hand. "Thank you," he said softly, and then decided to partially explain. "While searching for Slayers in Africa, I came across one with a brother. He wasn't willing to put her into my care, because I showed him glimpses of my . . . doubts, and pain. He gave me the option to go to another village, much deeper into the heart of Africa; an old village, with a lot of different rites, some said magic. He said they could help me get back on track. I went for both the girl and myself."

"And?" Dawn prompted gently from her friend and erstwhile crush.

Xander sighed, keeping the more disturbing details to himself for now, "It was everything he said it was, and more. They too had a Slayer called, and they didn't allow me to take her with me until after I did a vision quest, the same thing Mboto - the brother - recommended me. I had a vision alright, it told me to come here, and then the people I meet would lead me to 'the hidden lands', whatever that means . . ." Xander paused and looked Dawn in her eyes, and said, "Dawn, the vision gave me a new purpose, but also gave me even more pain; what I saw is _/not/_ good."

"That bad? What was it? And I can't believe _/you/_ of all people got a vision; judging by last year and the whole power trip Buffy and the others were on, only Slayers and ensouled vampires get them," Dawn said, a mixture of concern, excitement, and happiness in her eyes.

"I don't think I should tell you yet," Xander said, turning his head.

"Hey, I can handle it! Then we can get Giles in, and shorten this newest threat a good head!" Dawn protested, annoyed at her 'little girl' status.

"No!" Xander said forcefully. "It's not you, I'm not telling anyone yet, time is not ready for it; and _/you/_ promise me you won't tell anyone, _/especially/_ not Giles, Buffy or anyone else in this new Council that's being built."

Dawn looked at him stricken, and then nodded, "I promise - this is worse than anything we've faced before isn't it?"

Xander didn't answer, and instead said with a smile, "Hey, 'people I meet', I guess you're one of them. So tell me about this mission, 'cause it seems fate has ordained I'm tagging along."

Dawn's left mouth corner quirked up, and she answered, "Through reports there is a group of Slayers active in the vicinity. A group, however, that does not answer to us. I'm to find them, observe them, and if possible make contact and recruit them. I've got a week before I have to get back to school; autumn break."

"Only a week?" Xander asked with raised eyebrows.

"The reports are very detailed," Dawn said as she got up. She reached the suitcase she had placed on her bed, and rummaged in it for a few moments. She then presented the brown folders, and handed them to Xander. She smiled at him and said, "You think you can keep your eyes in reading mode while I put on my clothes?"

"I'll try, but I won't make any promises," Xander answered with a grin.

* * *

A day later, quite far away from Bangkok, somewhere in the bush-bush, Xander and Dawn got out of their rented vehicle. The two walked to in front of the car, Dawn holding a map. They leaned against the hood, and checked out the map. "Okay, according to the reports, they are highly active in this region. Any idea why they need to be active here? You don't suppose there's a Hellmouth or something similar around attracting demons, do you? If so, I haven't yet seen any . . . oh."

Two green vicious little demons had arrived from the bushes. They had rows of razor sharp teeth, and were drooling some slime. Xander casually pulled a gun from the back of his pants' waistband and shot them both in the middle of the head just before they were going to say something cliché for vicious bloodthirsty things. Both demons dropped to the ground instantly. "Chop off their heads, Dawn, you never can tell with demons," Xander said solemnly keeping them covered. When there was no movement he looked at Dawn and saw her looking at him in shock. "A little bit of the soldier boy, and the first thing you're taught in Africa by the surviving Watchers there: get a gun and learn how to use it, there are things in those war-ridden countries a lot worse than demons," he explained without a show of emotion.

Dawn nodded, and then quickly stepped forward, pulling a hatchet normally used for cutting plants blocking the way from a sheath on her left hip, and proceeded to cut the demons' heads off. "Yuck," she commented as both she and Xander dragged the corpses off the road and dumped them. "I'm thinking," she started after the deed was done, "we won't have much trouble finding the Slayers around here."

"I agree," Xander said, and then, after grabbing some hiking and survival gear from the truck and putting it on, they went into the woods.

They didn't find any more demons, but they did find their tracks, and soon more. After moving through the forest for about half an hour, they found tracks of humans. Quite a few of them. Xander estimated about a dozen, but since a lot of the tracks were overlaid, he couldn't be very sure. After telling Dawn that, the girl asked softly, "More Africa?"

Xander looked up at her, and grinned. Nodding he said, "The same Watcher taught me, if you don't want to run in a pack of lions, you better know how to read tracks." Dawn grinned back at him, and then they followed the tracks. Another ten minutes later they found them. Xander and Dawn quickly disappeared behind a rock and bushes far away once they heard them, and used binoculars to check it. Slayers had better senses than humans after all, and they weren't ready to make direct contact like that just yet. From their position they had a good view how a group of eleven Slayers cleaned out a nest of the same demons that had attacked them earlier. The nest was housed in a cave, and the demons had tried to charge the Slayers and hoped some slipped past them, but not one survived. All were gutted, decapitated, staked or otherwise killed. It was a brutally efficient operation: Xander and Dawn were pleased, the Slayers obviously understood teamwork.

When the Slayers were done, they left, and Xander and Dawn followed them at a discrete distance. After a while of following, and Xander and Dawn checking their computerized GPS map, they soon figured out the Slayers were heading toward a nearby village. Having determined their destination, they decided it was best to make contact, and so they stopped sneaking and simply walked heartily. Obviously, it didn't take long before the Slayers to know of them, and they were surrounded. "Who are you?" the lead Slayer demanded.

"Ah, I'm Dawn Summers, and this is Xander Harris," Dawn introduced the two of them. "You are Slayers."

The Slayers looked at them suspiciously, and the lead Slayer said, "True or not, what's that to you?"

"We're the ones who made you Slayers," Xander answered her, and all the Slayers looked surprised.

"Could you bring us to whoever trained you?" Dawn asked with a disarming smile, which she hoped worked as well on Slayers, as it did on men and sisters. The Slayers could say 'no' of course and disappear, but they would simply go to the village they already knew they were heading too. The only other possibility would be the Slayers trying to kill them, but both Xander and Dawn had decided upon coming down that that option's chance was slim to none. The subordinate Slayers looked at their leader, who frowned in concentration as she thought what to do.

The leader then stuck out her hand, and said, "You give us your weapons and walk in the middle of us, you can come."

Xander shrugged and pulled out his two guns, as Dawn pulled out a stake. She produced two more stakes, and Xander three. Then they both placed two knives - utility knives, but they could be used as weapons - in the Slayers' hands. The Slayers looked rather astonished as the pile, and they didn't even have the holy water, the crosses and a few more objects and vials not useful against humans, but the Slayers didn't know that. Once the weapons were taken into custody, the Slayers let Xander and Dawn - boxed in between Slayers so they couldn't do anything - carefully to their village.

Once there, Xander and Dawn were led to a house and a revered man. The three had a long talk, in which the whole sordid messes on both sides were explained. The man had talked to them about knowing the legend of the Slayer - from his description he and his family were most likely descendants from a centuries-dead Watcher - and how one girl in his village was called, and then he found more and more. Xander and Dawn explained about the battle against the First Evil, what Buffy had come up with as a solution, and how they had gone along with it. The man was most pleased, especially after they offered some knowledge only Watchers would know.

When the three went out the house to celebrate their new alliance, and soon recruitment of the Slayers _/and/_ the man and his family into the new Watchers Council, the lead Slayer arrived excitedly. "Sir, he has been spotted again, the slippery one. Allow us to go after him right this instant so we can finally destroy him!" she reported with glittering eyes.

"You can go, but return their weapons, and take them along. They speak the truth; they have more knowledge of the supernatural and how to battle it than all of us combined. They will be very useful," the old man said.

The Slayers looked at Dawn and Xander, and then the leader nodded. Not happy, but not exactly unhappy about it either.

* * *

The eleven Slayers, Dawn and Xander sat in hiding in the jungle, waiting. The Slayers had explained about the demonic monster: big, hairy, with large and sharp teeth to tear you apart. In short: one nasty demon. And it was smart too apparently, for it had given them the slip four times already. Xander and Dawn were excited, and somewhat distracted both thinking about how to break it to the Slayers later on. They, or at least some and then in multiple groups - this area could use multiple Slayers - would have to come to a Slayer training facility.

"There," the lead Slayer hissed softly, pointing. Xander and Dawn couldn't make anything out yet; Slayer superior vision helping the Slayers. So, they both pulled out their binoculars, as the Slayer whispered, "Coming closer, everyone get ready."

Xander and Dawn looked through their binoculars. They then changed the focus till they could see clearly. Their eyes widened in shock, just as the lead Slayer ordered, "Attack!"

The entire group of Slayers charged forward, as Xander and Dawn jumped up and together yelled, "WAIT!" The Slayers however did not listen: stakes, swords and other assorted weaponry was pulled, all determined to kill the demon. Xander and Dawn ran after them, but they couldn't possibly keep up with the Slayers. "This way!" Xander suddenly said, veering off to the right, and pulling Dawn along by the arm.

"Why?" Dawn said, running along, no longer being held.

"I recognize his pattern, I taught him that; very effective against vampires - and I do not like the implication it's effective against Slayers as well. He'll circle back, do some weaves and arrive there," Xander said breathing hard as he and Dawn ran hard on a shorter route.

"What's Oz doing here anyway?" Dawn asked still in shock at the appearance of their long lost friend on their binoculars.

"No clue," Xander said, and they turned left, putting in an extra effort in a sprint - the heavy plant growth making running difficult. They reached a small clearing no more then four meters across, and on the other side appeared a black-haired Daniel 'Oz' Osbourn - dye being hard to find in the middle of a rainforest. His eyes widened, both in shock and fear. The werewolf hesitated - wondering for a brief moment if his erstwhile friends would come hunting him - then decided to trust his friends, and his sense of smell that didn't detect any magic or chemicals on them that might be used to alter their state of mind. He surged forward, went between Dawn and Xander, and turned around just behind them.

"Where to?" Oz asked.

"Wait right here," Xander said, as sounds betrayed the Slayers were only close behind. Oz waited apprehensively and watched as the Slayers arrived at the clearing. "STOP!" Xander commanded and indeed the lead Slayer and the few behind her stopped. They looked questioningly and surprised, but by far means they had not relaxed. "What are you doing? He's not a demon, not a monster."

"You step away from him, he transforms," the Slayer warned, wondering why the one with superior knowledge of the supernatural didn't know this.

"I know, he's a werewolf, it's a disease, not a demon," Xander said hastily, and with authority. "He's a human being for twenty-eight days of the month. Only during a full moon, and the day before and after does he transform into a wolf. Lock him up during that time and there's no foul. Better even, I know Oz here, he's learned how _/not/_ to transform during a moon, that means he's human all the time. He's not a demon, he's /not/ evil, and you're _/not/_ supposed to kill him."

The lead Slayer growled and took a step forward. "Your friends with a monster? I don't know if I still want to have anything to do with you and me."

"He's not a monster!" Dawn called out.

The lead Slayer said as she stepped forward, "We're Slayers, we're here to kill the monsters."

Xander pulled out his gun, and pointed it at her, while Dawn pulled her crossbow from her back. "I will not let you kill him, and I prefer not to kill you," Xander told them with steel in his voice.

Dawn added for good measure, "But if we have to choose between him and you, you're the ones who'll go down."

"He's not human!" the lead Slayer called out as if that was enough, and the other Slayers agreed with that sentiment. "So we kill him, before he can kill humans. That's our sacred duty."

"You're not human, you're stronger, faster, heal faster," Xander countered with mounting nervousness. He was started to think he couldn't convince them. "Do you have to kill yourself?"

The Slayer snarled out, "We're _/not/_ monsters. We're _/human/_ all the way. We are the Chosen Ones to fight the Darkness. We kill the likes of him."

Oz tried to get Xander's attention, but failed. "How do you know," Xander growled out suddenly angry, "you're not worse monsters than Oz here could ever hope to be?" Dawn and Oz, and especially Dawn, looked with shock at that question. Then two Slayers came swinging from a tree on either side of Xander and Dawn, and kicked Xander's gun, and Dawn's crossbow from their hands. The other Slayers charged. "RUN!" Xander said.

"This way!" Oz called pulling Dawn in a diagonal backward direction. Xander followed as they ran. Oz pushed a particularly sturdy branch forward, saying, "Xander, duck." The branch sprung back - Dawn right behind Oz was past it - Xander ducked, and the branch flung over him. It slammed solidly into the Slayer right behind him, and with an 'oof' she was launched backward off her feet, and slammed into more Slayers. This gave Xander time to pull his backup gun from his ankle holster.

Oz disappeared into some undergrowth, and Dawn and Xander followed. The wolf's instincts were sharper than ever it seemed, as he crawled onward underneath plants, just high enough to let Xander under as well. "So, Oz," Dawn said softly, and sarcastically friendly. "What are you doing here? We were here to find some rogue Slayers, which we found and joined on a hunt."

Oz grinned unseen by his companions behind him, and answered her, "Rumors of a hermit around here that helped someone take full control of the beast. I thought I'd beaten it a second time, met a girl I liked - almost killed her."

"Well good, it's so nice to know that if the Slayers don't kill me, an out of control werewolf will," Dawn joked and looked behind her when she heard Xander shoot. A painful groan from behind him showed they had not fully lost the Slayers.

"Unless I hit them in a vital place, this little gun won't hurt a Slayer much," Xander said, urging Oz and Dawn onward. Soon after they could stand back up, and run through a clearer part of the jungle, Xander shooting backward occasionally. With Oz sense of smell guiding them away from Slayers, they weaved through the jungle desperately, trying to stay ahead of the super powered girls, but their speed was just too much - they gained steadily, and Xander was running out of bullets. Add to that that Xander was certain of only one Slayer he incapacitated enough she wouldn't be running after them anytime soon - things looked bleak.

Xander looked back again, seeing a Slayer gaining rapidly. He started squeezing the trigger . . . and the gun was gone. "What?" Xander exclaimed in surprise, and found himself a moment later in a sticky substance. Looking forward with difficulty, it seemed it was a spider web, and next to him Oz and Dawn were equally trapped.

"Oh, shit!" Dawn said, struggling, but only managing to entangle herself more.

"Lucky us," Oz commented calmly.

"Lu- . . .?" Dawn was about to ask, and then she too noticed the ravine that was only a few steps further. She swallowed and said, "Yeah, lucky."

There was a poof, and the three of them bent their heads back to see a man in white robes, with blue patches, and odd sandals standing there. His white, cut-short - almost shaven bald - hair, gave the three an idea he was rather old. The Slayers beyond him came to a sudden surprising stop.

"Old man," the lead Slayer said, having no wound at all. The two Slayers next to her had a red patch on their arm, but it didn't seem the arm was useless: already healing. "Out of our way. The small one is a monster, a killer, and the others wish to let him go on killing."

"Please leave," the man said calmly, but his voice took on an increasing haunted air as he continued speaking, "I have no desire to kill you, but I will if I have to. These three are now under my protection, and I will assure you that none of them will kill anyone. Once again, I have lost the appetite to kill a long time ago, so please leave."

"This is your last chance old man," the Slayer growled.

The man spoke again, the pain in his voice almost tangible, "Please, do not force me to kill you, leave now."

With a rapid movement the Slayer tossed two razor sharp knives, and they hit perfectly. Both penetrated the man's neck, and were stained red. Xander, Dawn, and Oz looked in shock, then even greater shock as there was a poof, a lot of smoke, and suddenly the man was no more. In his place there was a wooden log in which the clean knives were sticking, and it dropped solidly to the ground. "What?" the Slayer exclaimed with huge eyes, and the others were surprised as well. She looked around, getting a little afraid and then ordered, "Find him, kill him, quickly!"

Two men, looking _/exactly/_ the same as the old man of before, appeared from behind two trees on either side of the Slayers. The Slayers they appeared next were too surprised to react to them grabbing their heads at the same time. All they managed to do was widen their eyes too late, as their heads and necks were wrenched powerfully to one side, and then the other. Two snaps from either Slayer's necks already told the tale. The Slayers dropped bonelessly to the grounds, dead. The Slayers closest looked shocked for an instant, and then enraged they charged and landed a massive punch on the men. Both of them were launched of their feet, then there was another poof, some smoke and the men were gone. Fearfully the Slayers took a step back.

"Why do people always force me to kill them?" a pained voice asked behind the Slayers and they whirled around.

One Slayer charged, screaming in fear and rage, bringing the stake in her right hand down. The old man took a step back, while he pushed her attacking hand aside without any force in his arm it seemed. The Slayer's left hand came up for a punch and the man did the same. Then he suddenly ducked down, and took a powerful step forward, slamming both hands in the Slayer's gut. The Slayer gurgled out in pain, a crack coming from her ribs, blood shooting from her mouth, and then she was launched off her feet, flying up and over the other Slayers who paused in shock. The girl landed squarely on a piece of wood sticking out, with penetrated through her back and out her chest. She gasped in surprise, and then slumped in death.

The Slayers now attacked en masse. Straining their heads to watch the fight, Oz, Dawn, and Xander watched with dropped jaws as the man danced between the Slayers. He twisted one up and over him using her own punch against her, and sending her flying with another double handed blow to her stomach like the first. She broke her back as she crashed against a tree. At the same time he ducked underneath a punch, and kicked out and up with his left leg, catching a Slayer underneath her chin. Her head snapped back till her neck broke and she slumped to her death. He jumped up and over a charging Slayer, landed in front of another, and slammed a right hand on her chest. The Slayer choked, coughed up blood, and looked with wide teary eyes at the man, before she died of cardiac arrest and dropped to the ground. At the same time, his left arm hooked behind a left punch of another Slayer, and twisted the arm back behind her. With a quick yank he broke her neck, and threw her against another onrushing Slayer. This continued for another minute, and then all the Slayers had been killed - they hadn't even laid a finger on the old man.

The man, now extremely distraught, slowly walked toward them, then a meter or so away sank to his knees. He was crying. Then he looked up into the sky, and asked in sobs, "Why do they always force me to kill them? Why? Why couldn't they just leave?"

"Um, sir?" Dawn prompted.

The man slowly stood up, made some odd hand gestures and the web that was holding them disappeared. The three friends dropped to the ground with various 'ow's, 'ooh's, 'oof's, and 'that hurt's. "I am Kanasi, I live nearby, and you seemed to be needing my help," the man told them, as they struggled to get up.

"I'm Xander Harris, and you just . . ." Xander looked at the corpses around, and then continued, "Jesus, killed eleven Slayers without breaking a sweat. What are you?"

"A ninja," he answered sadly, and then bitterly added, "an assassin from the shadows that has long since lost the stomach for killing - sadly I seem to be forced into it anyway. I came here to live in peace and quiet all those years ago when I couldn't stomach it anymore."

"Was that magic?" Dawn asked with wide eyes, looking at the log with knives in it, and the place where the net had been.

"Yes, no," Kanasi answered solemnly. "Some would call it magic, but those practicing actual magic will say without a doubt it is not, and it isn't, the two work on a fundamentally different level - magic can do more."

Oz took several steps forward, and said, "I'm Oz - I think you're the one I am looking for."

"You wish to control the beast inside you?" Kanasi asked with a sad face.

"Yes," Oz said with surprise. "How do you know?"

"The beast is obvious," Kanasi said with a sad look. "It will take a long training. Until now, you seem to have controlled it by controlling your emotions. Of course, when you come into a situation where your emotions are powerful, you once more lose control. The beast comes forth using your chakra - your life force, crudely put - you control some of it with your emotions - you wish to fully control the beast, you need to control your chakra directly."

"Would you teach me too?" Xander asked on impulse. He did not know exactly why he asked, but he did anyway.

"And me?" Dawn added, and Xander give her a look that told her he would have a talk with her.

Kanasi looked at them, and then asked, "What for? Do you just want power? Do you wish to better defend yourself?"

The three of them looked at each other for a moment, and then Xander turned to the hermit, saying, "You didn't seem confused when I said they were Slayers, so I take it you know of them."

"I know of the legend, and I believe there is supposed to be only one," the mysterious ninja answered them.

Xander nodded, and said, "We - that is Dawn, me, and several friends, one very powerful witch and a Slayer mostly - changed it." And so Xander explained the demons walked the Earth before man, the origin of the vampires, the demons still walking this Earth today - at which Kanasi didn't seem so much surprised - and then Buffy arriving in his hometown, the Hellmouth and in major lines the events of the past seven years. "We fight the darkness," Xander finished, "this would be to fight the darkness better."

Kanasi looked at each one of them one after another for several long moments. Apparently satisfied with their sincerity he nodded in agreement, he then looked at the Slayers he killed. Xander was the one to say, "First, we will bring their bodies back, so they can be buried by their family. Then we will return here."

* * *

The bodies trailed behind the three of them on stretchers. It was a morbid task, but they had to do it. Xander had finally found the time and place to speak to Dawn, without the ninja hermit nearby, "Dawn, you have to get back to school at the end of the week, remember? You cannot stay here and be trained."

"Let me ask you a question first, Xander," Dawn said sternly. "What did you mean with how the Slayers knew they weren't worse monsters than Oz?" Xander looked away. "Well?" Dawn demanded.

"I'd like to know that too," Oz added.

"Like I said, the time is not- . . ." Xander started.

Dawn interrupted him angrily, "The _/hell/_ it isn't! What was in that damn vision?"

Xander looked at the two who were expectantly looking at him. He sighed deeply, painfully almost, and then, as they continued walking, he told them the contents of the vision.

Suffice it to say, the reaction Xander got was one of utter shock. Dawn then said, "I'm training with this geezer, and that's final. I'll do the schoolwork here, I'll ask Giles to send the proper textbooks, and take one of those correspondent tests, or do tests in local schools, perhaps there is even an English-language school here."

"But- . . . "

"Uh, uh! This is not just about the world, but about my sister as well, Alexander. I _/will/_ stay!" Dawn said looking into his eye. The look was both steel determination, and a pleading to agree. Her being seventeen, she knew she could be sent back and there was nothing she could do about it. Xander nodded, and then looked down.

* * *

The three of them arrived defeated at the former home of the Slayers. The people in the village looked with shock at the bodies being dragged on the makeshift string of stretchers; four behind the men, three behind Dawn. One boy ran back straight to the home of the man who had taught them. Xander, Dawn, and Oz gently set the stretcher they were holding down once they were in the village. The old man came out of his hut and looked at the dead slayers, tears instantly in his eyes. "What did this?" he choked out.

"What did you teach these girls?" Xander asked painfully.

The man looked up, anger marring his crying face, "Are you suggesting _/I'm/_ re- . . .?"

"They were going to attack him, he's not a demon. Oz here is not only a friend, but someone who helped fight the Darkness with us. I told them to stop it, I and Xander placed ourselves in between him and the Slayers, then they decided we should be killed as well," Dawn said sternly, rapidly. "We had no choice but to defend ourselves."

The man charged with a roar. Xander grabbed one of his hands, and with his other hand he placed his earlier retrieved gun at the man's temple. "There's been enough death today. Don't force me, any of you," Xander said, becoming aware of the villagers looking angrily at him.

"He's a werewolf, a monster," the old man hissed angrily, looking at Oz.

"Someone suffering from cancer isn't a monster," Dawn answered the man. "He's a human being, he has a soul and all. On top of that, he's learned enough control he doesn't transform anymore during the full moon and the day before and after; he doesn't kill anyone or anything."

"If he doesn't, then how come people have seen him transform?" the man hissed, the pain and rage on his face palpable, teeth bared.

"I was attacked by demons," Oz told the man painfully. "High strung emotions, adrenaline surges while fighting for my life brings forth the transformation. Although I don't have control when I'm in wolf form, during my travels I have put enough right and wrong in the wolf that I don't eat humans, and only hunt and eat animals. Just like a normal wolf, or tiger, or eagle. I have not killed a human in years, and I never will again. I'm making sure of that - there are only very specific . . . and very specific emotions that would make . . . no strangers."

Xander started back up slowly, indicating to Dawn and Oz they should do so as well. "We're leaving," Xander said determinedly, aiming the gun gently from left to right, "we wanted to attend their funeral and pay our respects; it's obvious we are not welcome here though. That's too bad, but don't try to stop us, I will defend my and their lives with deadly force if necessary."

Slowly the three of them left.

* * *

"Giles, I need time off, what happened here . . . you'll get the report, I need some emotional calming down," Dawn told Giles, completely telling the truth, even though not the whole truth. "Yes, yes, I _/know/_ you said it'd be tough, but even you will realize your 'tough' is peanuts compared to what I went through." After Giles spoke some more, Dawn said into the hotel room's phone, "You'll just have to send me the books, Giles, so I can study while relaxing, but I need time away from the Slayers. I just need to be me for a while . . . Like I told you a few days ago, Buffy probably won't even notice I'm gone, ever since she met that Immortal something or other . . . Thanks, Giles, see you soon I hope."

Dawn hung up the phone and looked at her two male friends. "That's that," she said solemnly. Xander nodded equally, sitting slumped on the bed. Dawn and Oz looked at him, after he told them what he saw in the vision they understood much better how defeated Xander must feel - they felt a lot of it themselves. But both had a good idea that Xander felt like this even _/before/_ the vision, and Dawn knew for certain. Thinking back to those final months in Sunnydale . . . back then other things - like staying alive - had preoccupied her not to pick up on it, but Xander had seemed defeated and lackluster even back then. She guessed it had only gotten worse after Anya's death, his let's-go-do-this attitude about the new Council and the Slayers before shipping off to Africa must have been an act - a good one, but just an act. The difference between those last months in Sunnydale and now though, was that Xander had a sense of purpose that he lacked then - a goal - but that seemed to make the basis of his mood only worse. She vowed she would find a way to make him better.

_To Be Continued . . ._


	4. Training

_Chapter 4: Training_

(by 3D Master & Joshua)

The hermit ninja Kanasi stood before his three new students, deep in the jungle, at the dwelling he had built for himself. He looked at them for a few moments, and said, "All three of you will require the same basis, so I will start with teaching you all the same basics. Each of you however along the way will require different things, and so your training will diversify sooner or later. We will start with basics of crudely put your life force, your chakra, also chi in some parts of the world. Chakra and chi are the same, yet different, you will understand that after I explain them individually."

He looked at them for a moment, all three were enraptured. He nodded in satisfaction, and said, "First, Chakra. Chakra is energy of the body mixed with energy of the mind; in combination it can be made to do a wide variety of things. The energy of the body is at its base chi, but not quite, more on that when I explain chi. The way the ninja have done this, is with hand seals. There are twelve. Each one makes the chi in your hands and torso interact in a different way - I believe scientists would call it interference patterns - each pattern allowing for several different things to be done with it - which is where the energy of the mind and the molding of the two comes in. One can make long strings of consecutive handseals, including repeating the same one; the combination will unlock a variety of abilities and techniques. I will now show and teach you the twelve handseals and the images you need to conjure up along with them in your mind: Rat, Horse, Ox, Ram, Tiger, Monkey, Hare, Bird, Dragon, Dog, Serpent, and Boar." Kanasi showed the seals when he named them. When he was done with all twelve he went in-depth with each one, going closer to his three students so they could get a better look, and to manually correct their finger positions when necessary. With every seal he taught them the pictures to place in their minds and the way to imagine their chakra flowing.

When he was finished with that, half an hour later, he once more took position a bit further away from them. "As you noticed, it is hard to do, your fingers are not very limber. Ninja are taught and trained these seals when they are still children. You will have to practice these extensively, every free moment would be preferred on top of the times I will schedule in, until you can perform them blindfolded. The seals are more than a tool to form the chakra, repeat these seals and with the mind engaging enough, and they become ingrained - just performing the seal will make your mind automatically bring up the required chakra flows and images. It's a great advantage - especially for the younger users who are easily distracted - it means that even under the most straining situations, you could still perform your jutsu - your techniques - if you still have enough chakra left of course."

"It's also a drawback, isn't it?" Dawn asked the hermit.

Kanasi smiled, nodded with satisfaction at the girl's perceptiveness, "Indeed: it means that if you're good enough, and you understand the concept of chakra flows behind the seals well enough, just watching the handseals would allow one to understand and anticipate which technique is coming - even if one has never seen it before - and prepare an appropriate response or even counter, especially if the handseal combination is very long. Further, if one is good enough, just watching a technique being performed once, would allow one to do the very same technique as well, in essence copy it perfectly. Indeed, there are known people who using breeding programs have developed bloodlines - I believe the western modern world presently calls them genetic traits - for the specific purpose of copying techniques. It also means that I think you started at a too old an age to learn it, if I didn't know of chi, that is."

Kanasi had a small smile when he saw their wide-eyed reaction, and then their relief to his final sentence. He continued before they could speak. "When I left my homeland, I wished to stop killing, and the entire essence of ninja chakra techniques is about killing. There are only a very few exceptions - a few places where medical ninjas and medical techniques were developed, but I was not born in any of those places. Once I arrived here, I went to look around for ways to use chakra not to kill. I found a group of monks in China who used what they called 'chi', and it seemed remarkably similar to chakra. These monks used it to fight as well, but they put their effort in not killing, just incapacitating if they had that luxury, and the rest of it were exercises to build up the chi, to draw it in their bodies, to improve their health, and their immune system through - even, so they believed, lengthen their life spans. The difference between their use of chi, and our chakra is the engaging of the mind. Although present, it is much less present so, the main thrust coming from the specific movements of the body. This makes chi-use less diverse, less complex, and you can do less with it, however it also makes it more primal, more raw, and I'm pretty certain, more pure energy, more power. When you learn chakra seals along with the chi exercises and building up your power through them, you should be able to overcome your late starting age. I think you three are getting ready for some action, right?"

"Yes, most certainly for me," Xander said with a low tone. "The whole explanation was fascinating, but I think I'm about to spring roots."

Kanasi chuckled, and then started the practical session of the chi health exercises.

* * *

That evening they ate with the old hermit for the first time. They sat below and in front of the ninja's very well constructed tree house at a crackling fire on which they roasted some vegetables and meat. Where the ninja had gotten the vegetables from, the three friends didn't ask and didn't really care. "All right," Dawn said, then took the time to swallow away a mouthful of food. "We're in the dark here. You're a ninja, great going, and you've given some hints to where you're from originally, but that's about it. Obviously you and others like you are no longer the pure physical-only ninja of old, and I doubt you're from Japan. Explain. And how old are you?" Xander looked up, and gave a nod. Oz looked interested as well.

Kanasi gave a smile, and then said, "I suppose anything that isn't secret should be shared among sensei and students. I am sixty-eight years old." The three friends' eyes widened in shock. A sixty-eight-year-old had killed eleven slayers without a finger being laid on him! A sixty-eight-year-old! What would a ninja in his prime be like? Kanasi ignored their shocked faces, and spoke, "A few centuries ago, bullets seemed to make the ninja superfluous. Many clans disbanded, many others continued fighting with guns, some were slaughtered and then there were several clans and ninja who broke from the disbanded clans that weren't about to give up. In their minds, ninja could still make a difference, they just needed to find out how. They left Japan in search for other pastures. They hid themselves on the islands of Oceania. There are thousands as you know, trying to find them, is like a needle in a haystack, more specific however, I cannot get, they are not hidden for nothing. There are names for the countries to the outside world, sometimes they are officially part of a different country, but within they are known by different names. Many of the countries have, or have had hidden villages - hidden ninja villages - a country's military might. Any interest in these places by the 'official' government has long ceased, nobody wishes to go there anymore. I am originally from the Hidden Village of the Mist."

Xander had listened half-interested, until Kanasi spoke about 'hidden'. Like the vision had told him: people would lead him to the 'hidden lands'. Whole villages and countries of these people! In their prime! Such military might . . . a flicker of hope and new look upon the world awoke in him. "Kanasi-sensei," Xander started, as the hermit had asked to be called. "What if I told you, I had a vision in which I was sent to find someone to lead me to the 'hidden lands'? Would you still not tell me?"

Kanasi looked at him, then down, thought for a moment, and said, "No, for multiple reasons. Were I a cynical man, I'd say you told me a story about a vision just to get me to tell you. Just because you had a vision doesn't mean it will come true, must come true, and that I should help you fulfill it. Finally 'hidden lands' could mean about anyplace on the Earth, visions and prophecies are like that. Never saying everything, being vague enough that if you're looking for meanings you can usually make a few things fit with the offering occurrences. However, I will see whether I will tell you or not during our training."

* * *

With a painful ache Xander landed on the ground. He groaned and looked up at the tree. On a branch sat Dawn, laughing. 'Put your chakra to your feet,' he said. 'Then use the chakra to stick to the tree and run up it.' He barely got two meters, and probably not even that! Dawn though, seemed to be able to do it much easier. There was a smack and an even more powerful groan from Xander right. He looked over and grinned; at least Oz was even worse at this. Xander got up, and ran up the tree again, dropping back down once more.

* * *

The knife hit Dawn in her neck, there was a poof, and a log dropped to the ground from where she just was. "Yah!" Dawn yelled, and Xander turned to his left, seeing Dawn in the air and two perfectly thrown kunai flew at him. He only barely managed to avoid them.

* * *

"Receive your opponent's attack without force, be empty, and yield," Kanasi explained as he caught Xander's attack, taking a step back. A few meters over, Dawn was attacking and Oz was similarly defending himself. "The essence of Yin-Yang, the essence of Tai Chi. Done right, well executed, some of your opponent's chakra will be taken by you, so that you can hit him with his own energy." Kanasi hit Xander, Oz hit Dawn. Xander was launched away from the hermit, while Dawn just took a step back at the impact of Oz's punch.

While Xander lay groaning in pain, Kanasi turned to Oz and said, "You still have a long way to go."

* * *

Kanasi looked at Oz when he stood right across form him. It had been a month since they first got here. Xander and Dawn weren't here, and Kanasi told Oz, "It's time your ways part. You are the wolf, you're power is great as the wolf. You're training will not be control, or subtlety, it will be chaos. When you transform, you chakra is whirling like a vortex. We're going to focus on you being able to ride the vortex, and keep your chakra - and thus the transformation - under control. _/This/_ will be about never letting that vortex of energy consume you, to ride it like a surfer does wave. Let's begin."

* * *

Kanasi sat in a lotus position across from Dawn, who was in the same position. "Dawn, you felt a stirring in your stomach? A tug of something energetic during your training?"

"Uh, yeah, actually," Dawn answered the old man.

Kanasi smiled, "You told me about your origin: a magically created vessel for something called the 'Key'." Dawn nodded. "You are a magical construct, a magical construct to hold this very powerful Key energy, a similar energy had to be stored in you to keep it contained, and not let it consume your body. That storing energy, is still there, and I think you can access it. Doing so however, requires you to become hyper aware of your body and your energy; after all this isn't simple chakra or chi, it's energy on another level. In short, for a large part, I will be flying blind here. To get awareness though, you will have to meditate a lot from now one. Let's begin."

* * *

"I will teach you a jutsu I created myself, Xander, one that has no seals, and that is extremely difficult to master," Kanasi told the one eyed man. Kanasi held up his right hand, and a small ball of energy formed in it. "Behold, the Piercing Needle." Xander watched as the Ninja hermit walked over to a tree and casually slammed the glowing ball into it. There was a flash, a rumble, and then Kanasi took a step back. Xander's eye widened in shock. There was a hole in the tree, that he could see clear through. Behind the tree the

* * *

re was another tree, equally pierced, and behind that a third, but the hole in that one didn't go all the way through. 

"Whoa," Xander muttered looking closer to see if his eye wasn't deceiving him: it wasn't.

"Catch," Kanasi said, and Xander stood back, catching the two water balloons the old sage had thrown to him. Xander looked surprised at the balloon, wondering when and where the old man had gotten the time to get balloons. Had an illusion been teaching them at least once? Obviously none of them could even come close the sage's power and tricks, nor could they see through his illusions if that was the case. The ninja himself was holding a balloon as well. "In order to learn this technique, there are three steps. This is the first." The balloon in the ninja's hand burst, water spraying upward like a fountain. He continued, "the key to this technique is pooling your chi at the hand. You're goal is to make the water pierce the balloon. Once you can do it with both hands, make sure you can do it with both hands simultaneously. I give you only one tip: contraction and expansion. One of the important things of this is, for you to figure it out yourself. Have fun." He then walked away from Xander, leaving a whole bucket full of balloons behind him.

"Ah, man," Xander muttered in defeat. Then he started concentrating on the balloon in his right hand. Nothing happened.

* * *

It was two weeks later, when Kanasi and Dawn were in deep meditation - a golden glow was flowing around Dawn, centered on her belly - that Xander came to the old ninja. "I finally figured it out," Xander said without a particular air of victory or triumph. "First one expands the water in the width, bringing it down and putting potential in it. Then one pushes it upward rapidly contracting it as thinly as possible, the tip preferably as small as a needle. The resulting impulse of the contracting water with the narrow impact is what does the trick." Both balloons, one in either hand, simultaneously burst, two fountains of water spraying up and coming down, wetting Xander's hands, wrists, and sleeves further.

"Ah, good," Kanasi said with a grin, as Dawn looked at Xander with a huge smile, the golden energy continuing to gently flow around her. The sage ninja got up and disappeared into the tree house. A few moments later he returned with a basket full of rubber balls. He tossed two to Xander who caught them. Kanasi grinned at him, and said, "First stage; basics of the technique complete." He picked up a ball himself, held it up. With a little flex the ball's side facing the sky exploded, and then the rest of the ball was limply flung away. "Second stage; build up power. Go train, I will continue Dawn's training."

"Ah, man," Xander said again, looking at the balls and then left the two alone, dragging the basket behind him.

* * *

Another three weeks later Dawn landed against a tree, and hung against it. It had rained earlier, and so she had to balance on the slippery bark for a moment. She threw several kunai at Oz who bounced away to avoid them. The kunai became enveloped by a golden glow and suddenly switched course, directly at Oz. Oz made a few hand seals and said, "Ice Barrier Jutsu." He placed his hands on the ground, and water vapor rapidly raised up, and froze in a barrier, just before the kunai. Unable to change course on time, the kunai embedded in the ice. Oz then turned to Dawn, who jumped away from the tree, and he tossed a kunai at her. The kunai in the ice though kept glowing, wiggling, and burning. Ice melted under the pressure and energy, and finally burrowed through the barrier. Much too late Oz noticed it, and the kunai embedded in his chest - not a single vital place because obviously they were training. Dawn landed on the ground, took a few steps forward, and grinned, "Got you."

Oz poofed, revealing a wooden log and it dropped down. "Not quite," a male growled behind Dawn. Followed by an oof as Dawn's elbow smashed in his ribs.

"Yes, quite, I _/knew/_ you were going to do that," Dawn answered with a grin. Oz growled then and picked Dawn up. She squealed when she was tossed away, and she realized the fight had only just begun.

* * *

Kanasi sat down below, on the side, and nodded with a smile, making mental notes on their progress, or lack thereof in other areas. "I did it, I finally did," Xander's voice sounded from his right. He was breathing hard, and Kanasi just raised his eyebrows. Xander presented the rubber balls on his hands, and then squinted his eyes in concentration. A blue glow surrounded him as he continued to increase his power. Then with a scream of extreme effort the tops of the balls finally blew and the rest dropped to the floor. Xander then sank to his knees, breathing deeply. Kanasi grinned, and said, "Very good." He got up, and walked over to a tree. He then charged his attack and slammed it in the tree, forming a hole. "Final stage, finding the control and focus to do that. Now you must basically relearn the first stage, only with much greater power and keeping it focused in the exact space you want it to go, condensing it better. Hop to it."

Xander groaned, "Ah, man."

* * *

Kanasi, Xander, and Dawn watched - the latter two stunned - as Oz transformed. Fur rapidly grew on him. He grew a bit bigger. His hands became paws. His clothes ripped, although some managed to stay on him. His face elongated into a snout, and grew fur also. His eyes then turned into the fierce eyes of the predator. The cracking of bones as they rearranged sounded eerie. Xander and Dawn got ready now that the transformation was nearing its completion, just in case Oz couldn't control his form. Once complete, the wolf growled and barked at the three humans. "Oz?" Dawn asked. 

"Hey, Oz, it's me, Xander, you got control there yet?" Xander asked, not enjoying the prospect of having to beat the crap out of his friend, even if he was in wolf form and wasn't going to feel it - at least not until after he awoke, which begged the question whether his werewolf healing would heal him before Oz woke up. Neither Dawn or Xander were afraid for their lives, with their newfound abilities a primitive wolf shouldn't be too much of a problem. They were, however, worried about sustaining a bite in the process and becoming a werewolf themselves.

The wolf barked again, growling, and then calmed down. The primitive rage reflecting in its eyes gained a more measured and intelligent outlook. Its stance became less aggressive, and it looked at them. "Hi, guys," the wolf spoke with a low growling voice, and Dawn gave a shocked squeal.

"You can speak in that form," Xander said in surprise, and Kanasi casually nodded, pleased his training was effective, but he looked expectantly.

"It seems that way, and . . ." WolfOz hunched up his eyes, looked up at his two friends, and added, "There's something else." Oz seemed to be concentrating, orange chakra started flowing around him, and Xander and Dawn looked interested. Oz gave a groan, his chakra intensified, and then cried out. There were cracks, the same cracks accompanying his reshaping bones earlier. A moment later it became visual as well; arms, legs and torso changed. Oz came to stand up, his snout became a little shorter, the chest broader. His front paws slowly changed into clawed hands, and his legs became straighter. A bit longer the transformation took, and then there was a seven foot, hulking wolfman standing in front of them. The shirt had fallen off, but Oz was glad his ripped jeans - like the Hulk - had stayed put. He knew, that even though Dawn was over sixteen, and close to seventeen now, she was still a virgin and if she got a glimpse of his privates, one Xander Harris in his ever protective ways would beat the crap out of him for it. "Well, how do I look?" Oz asked the amazed Xander and Dawn.

"That's so cool!" Dawn exclaimed with a huge grin. "I've got my very own cuddly, fuzzy wolfy!"

"Dawn!" Xander and Oz exclaimed in shock. Kanasi chuckled.

"Just kidding. Sjeez. Get a grip, guys," Dawn told them with a big grin.

* * *

Kanasi stepped back, pulling Xander along over his shoulder and slammed both hands in his stomach. With a groan of pain Xander was launched away. He landed on the trunk of a tree and jumped back. He kicked out, and Kanasi gently blocked it. The hermit attacked again, and this time Xander took a step back, catching the ninja's arm, locking it. Xander then made an uppercut with his right arm, directly to the elbow of the left. Kanasi's left hand grabbed his right by the wrist though, holding him there, and slammed a foot into Xander's stomach. With an 'oof' Xander took several staggering steps back. He was ready to go though, and saw the next attack coming. He moved his left arm to parry it. For the past several minutes the sparring match had been nothing but getting beat up, it got to Xander, he was rather pissed, not to mention desperate to score at least one hit, or least protect himself more effectively. Kanasi was undoubtedly pulling his punches, but Xander didn't feel that at all. He felt badly hurt, he needed to protect himself - at the very least for his hurt pride, whatever little there was left of it after the past few years. Suddenly, for some reason, everything in Xander told him to parry on the left side instead - he did.

Kanasi's eyes were wide for multiple reasons when Xander perfectly parried the left kick, and then attacked with both hands to his stomach. His feint had left him unguarded and the double-handed slam hit perfect. With a groan of pain it was Kanasi's turn to be launched off his feet. Xander then ran forward with a growl, preparing to take advantage of his advantage. Just as he was about connect a devastating attack, he ducked underneath Kanasi, pulled two kunai, twisted around and threw them directly next to a tree. The ninja hermit appeared from behind the tree, directly in the path of the knives. His eyes widened, and then he caught the triangular knives by their ringed handle. Then he ran forward. Xander was shocked, his eye widened. Kanasi was coming at him far too fast for him to defend himself. The bastard had obviously not even gotten close to using his full power - not even when fighting the Slayers. A moment later his powerful hands grabbed Xander's arms, and he said, "Hold, this fight is over."

"Why?" Xander asked in confusion, relaxing a bit. Oz and Dawn came over as well, shocked at Kanasi's speed, but also Xander's sudden change.

Kanasi looked at him for a tiny moment, and then said, "Why did you ignore the illusion?" Kanasi indicated the still standing version of him with a shrug.

"Because it's an illusion, it's got a log in it," Xander said, and once more his remaining eye widened. He blinked several times, then looked at Kanasi, and he said slowly, "I can see your chakra."

"Dawn, the bucket with water," Kanasi requested. Dawn, who had completely forgotten she had been carrying it, lifted the bucket up, looked at it for a moment and then quickly came over. Oz did too, both of them looking at him with wide eyes. Xander felt a little apprehension at their stares, and he had to muster up the courage to look into the water.

Xander did, and sucked in his breath. "Wha?" he said in shock, seeing his reflection. The iris of his eye was red. Red! And it had a black ring in the middle, on which were two black dots: two black dots with a tail - two small swirled dots directly across from each other. "What's that?" Xander asked in shock.

"Remember how I told you some clans created advanced bloodlines? Genetic traits?" Kanasi asked him. All three nodded. "That's one, the Sharingan, from the Uchiha clan of the Konoha village. Some say the eyes can see the future, can copy justus, see through illusions, and a whole lot more. Now that you have control over your chakra, it must have come out under stress of fighting this battle with only one eye - a compensation for losing the other."

Xander blinked and looked around calmly, muttering, "I does seem like I have depth perception back without having to look left and right constantly."

Kanasi nodded, and said, "I cannot help you with it, or teach you how to use it, only the Uchiha clan can."

"But how did I get it?" Xander asked him, somewhat freaked out.

"That too, is something only the Uchiha's might be able to tell you, I do not know, although . . . the first two letters of Harris, are the last two of Uchiha - there might be a relation there," Kanasi said, with Oz and Dawn looking at Xander in shock.

Xander hesitated a moment, and then asked half-worried, "So, I'm not a monster? I'm not infected by a demon or anything?"

"No, it's nothing but genetics, just like the color of your hair," Kanasi told him.

That relieved Xander, and his Sharingan eye dimmed, returned to normal. "Huh?" Xander muttered, seeing everything like he saw before.

"Can you activate it consciously?" Kanasi asked him. Xander blinked and then tried to focus, nothing happened. "Try routing chakra to it," the ninja hermit suggested. Xander concentrated, doing as suggested. Suddenly his Sharingan came out again, and to Xander's surprise the eerie super clear vision, and seeing things he shouldn't be seeing was back once more.

"That could come in handy," Oz commented with raised eyebrows.

"Indeed, but it obviously uses up chakra. Can you see through objects?" the hermit asked, and Xander shook his head. Kanasi nodded, and said, "I suggest you use it with moderation, and never learn to rely on it. The eyesight can obviously be blocked, and if an opponent does exactly that, you'll be in serious trouble if you don't know how to fight without your new eye." Xander nodded in agreement. "Now, let's continue our training, you have yet to master the third stage."

Dawn perked up and said, "With his new eye, will you tell us . . ."

"No," Kanasi spoke and turned away.

"Bastard," Dawn muttered darkly.

* * *

It was another week later, just about five months since they started their training with the hermit, that Xander walked over a tree next to where he was teaching Dawn something new. He grinned, and charged the little ball of energy. With a little yell he smashed it into the tree. A moment later the sawdust settled, and a hole was visible in the tree. In the tree behind there too was a hole, but not all the way through. Kanasi grinned and walked over to Xander. "The other hand?" he asked. With smile Xander performed the same move with his other hand. "Only a hole three quarters through?" the hermit asked. Xander looked at the old man for a moment, and then did as asked, then automatically did the same with his other hand.

Xander then said, "And there is more." He turned around, charged a ball of energy, saying, "The power of the ball lies in the impulse of the thrust, if you never let that impulse out . . ." He sent the ball flying away, grinning, and said, "like keeping the back with the front . . ." The ball crashed against a stone, and then there was quite a powerful explosion. The stone was gone, and Xander said, "it needs another direction to escape."

As Kanasi laughed heartily, Oz came running from his training, looking around, and asking, "What was that?"

"Xander demonstrating his new technique," Dawn said in awe.

"The key to its power lies in the needle-thin chakra points," Xander explained with a smile, looking at the old man. "It took me quite a while to figure out I had to create a whole lot more, some even pointing into the blast to allow for the outward ones - it took me a month to master that even _/after/_ I knew what to do."

"Good, very good, it speaks highly of your intuition that you understood you could fire it as well," Kanasi spoke and then grinned. "Then we can now go on with the _/actual/_ reason that I taught you that technique."

"Huh?" Xander asked, his momentary good mood at finally figuring the thing out already dampening.

"Tell me, have you not wondered why you are so powerful?" Kanasi asked him with a grin. "Fighting on the Hellmouth for seven years has helped some, but still, the energy you have accumulated would take a ninja ten years of training since he was two years old. Dawn here has the advantage of her magical essence, and Oz has his beast, you don't though."

"I'm guessing the Hellmouth, and not the fighting," Xander answered a little perturbed.

"Some, but not nearly enough," Kanasi told him in no uncertain terms. "Have you ever been defeated, or just hit, and wondered why you're still alive?"

Xander looked down, not really liking to be put on the spot in front of his friends, and then answered, "I was hit by sledgehammer once - several times in a row - bigger even, heavier. I was launched across the room like I weighed nothing, I found it a little odd, but my broken wrist took my attention away. I wondered even more when said hammer turned out to be a magical Troll god's hammer that then brought down a hell goddess, but the death of my friend kind of hampered my ideas to investigate, and . . . I guess getting hit by a magical blast that combined with a temple ruin would kill all life on Earth and get nothing but a few scratches always had me stumped."

Kanasi's grin had widened, nodding, and he asked, "Dawn told me you were possessed once, a dog was it?"

"Hyena," Dawn corrected automatically.

"You've been possessed more often, haven't you?" Kanasi asked him.

Frowning Xander said, "Well, if you count turning into your costume one Halloween . . ." Kanasi looked expectantly, and Xander added, "I was part of a spell that unified me and three friends - one a Slayer - and invoked the Slayer's ancient essence to make her powerful enough to take down a very powerful cyber-demon-man . . . and I was split into two once, and put back together."

"I'm glad I left," Oz deadpanned. Dawn and Xander glared at him, but Oz didn't react.

Kanasi was nodding, and smiled, "Exactly, and each of those events, as well as taking the magic blasts to end the world, put energy in you, some chakra, some chi, a few bits magic that got reformed into chakra. I've been noticing it since our first training, there are at least four different chakras in your body, and that's why you could take the hammer and the magical blasts. When they damaged or penetrated one chakra, they still had several layers more to go, and they just couldn't pass all. It's also why you can generate so much energy, you can draw more of your own out, while the others keep your everyday bodily functions going. Now, for magical attacks and items, those other chakras are great protection, but I think you've noticed in our sparring matches, it's useless against more mundane attacks."

"I suppose," Xander said, with Oz and Dawn going over from Kanasi to Xander and back, wondering what this was leading to.

"The technique I taught, wasn't just for the technique, mastering the technique requires an enormous amount of control over your chakra," the ninja master explained, finishing with, "That means you should have enough control and knowledge of chakra now to find and access the other inert chakras, and fuse them with your own." His three students looked with wide eyes at the master at that revelation. He pointed to a position, and Xander slowly walked to the place.

Xander looked at the sage for a moment, and then Xander formed a hand seal. He sank to his knees, and closed his eyes, searching deep in him. He brought out his own blue chakra first, forming a glow around him, and searched onward. Xander's eye opened for a moment, when he indeed could still feel more chakras in his body. He closed his eye again, and with an audience in bated breath watching, he brought out a dirty red chakra. He opened his eye to watch it, and guessed it was the Hellmouth's energy. He searched more, and a yellow chakra came out, then an orange one, and a dark green one. "Fuse them together, huh?" he asked of the old master. The man gave a nod, and so Xander started to try and push them together.

"Not just outside, inside as well," Kanasi told him, and Xander nodded, mentally slapping his head that he forgot. He forced the red and the blue a bit together, then pushed the others in along the way. He pushed gently, trying to imagine the energy grappling into each other, and they did. But only a short while, before the energy refused to continue. Xander groaned out, clenching his teeth as he pushed harder and harder. "Haaah!" he started, increasing his power, pushing them together with might.

"Calm, not so much power, it's control you seek," Kanasi advised and Xander nodded. He calmed down a bit, starting to look for more subtle ways. He stayed standing there, sweat gathering on his forehead as different colors of chakra swirled around him. Seconds steadily turned to minutes.

Dawn couldn't hold on her excitement any more and encouraged, "Go on, Xander! You can do it! I know you can!" Oz gave an acknowledging grunt.

There! That was it, Xander realized. If he just let one frequency interact with the other, let them slide into one another and not against each other. More and more the chakras merged. The visible energy around him churned and swirled, started to twist and turn around him. Some chakra flowed upward, wrapping into the others. Colors slowly started merging. This was it. Xander could see it, _/feel/_ it. Just the last little bit, control didn't help here anymore he realized. He forced them together, gritting his teeth, and then roared, out, "AAAAAAHH!"

Just before Kanasi was about scold Xander again, it happened. The swirling vortex of multiple colors energy sped up another few notches, and started flickering as they were forced together. Suddenly, as if ink was poured into water, the different colors disappeared, merging together in a swirl of blue, much darker blue than the almost ethereal blue a human standard had. With a burst the vortex grew in size, both vertically as well as horizontally, and a powerful burst of wind blasted into the spectators. The energy was burning so brightly now it was audible.

"Whoa!" Dawn muttered in shock.

Oz nodded.

And Kanasi thought, More than the sum of its parts, indeed.

Xander was amazed, he had never felt such power, never felt so strong. He just had to try it out. He jumped, and turned around, with great speed. He was certain that somehow he was using his chakra for some of the speed and movements on an instinctual level. With a roar he slammed his fist about halfway up against a tree . . . and straight through. The trunk splintered and exploded into fine strings of wrinkly wood, and then the top of the tree simply toppled over backward. Xander pushed off against the remaining trunk, and rammed his feet against another tree with the same result. The large top toppled over toward Oz, Dawn and the hermit, and so Xander bashed the entire top of the jungle tree away into another direction. Having testing his newfound power thoroughly he landed on the ground, and looked at his arms and hands in amazement. Then he drew his chakra slowly back into his body.

"Now _/that/_ is impressive," Oz said, nodding his head. Dawn just looked amazed.

"About halfway a kage's power. You might actually be able to defeat me now, in a battle with just power, you still lack the number of jutsus," Kanasi said with a grin.

Xander looked at him suspiciously for a moment, and then said, "You're lying, and what's a 'kage' anyway?"

Kanasi chuckled and turned around towards his tree house, and said, "Well, that concludes my training of you three."

"What?" Dawn asked in wonderment.

"You wish to learn more, you will have to go the hidden villages - the hidden lands - of which I will provide the location - since I can't teach Xander anything about that eye of his, and his vision told him to go there, it's only proper you go there," Kanasi told them walking to his house. "You will learn about 'kages' there."

"When did you decide this?" Xander asked in some annoyance.

Kanasi turned half around and said, "The moment I noticed your multiple chakras, I knew you were absolutely telling the truth, and you weren't just trying to trick me into giving you the location."

"Was that _/before/_ or _/after/_ I asked you to tell where they were?" Xander asked him suspiciously. Kanasi just grinned. Xander groaned, while Dawn and Oz looked with wide eyes.

- O -

"Wow," Faith muttered, when Xander said he was finished with his tale. Faith still didn't know the full extend of Xander's abilities, but she got an idea he was quite a bit stronger. "Oz can really turn into a half-wolf half-human creature on two feet?"

Xander nodded, and said, "Yep, a real werewolf, were meaning 'man', or 'human'."

"Amazing," Faith muttered just before her eyes fluttered closed and she fell asleep. Lying on that couch in Xander's arms had had an extremely calming effect on her, and her body's need for sleep finally exerted itself. Xander grinned, and very gently picked her up. He watched as Kurenai emerged from behind the door frame, looking at the two.

Kurenai smiled, and said, "It still amazes me, how those super tough, supernaturally endowed girls can look so sweet and fragile the moment they are asleep - and it's even more of a contrast with Faith here."

Xander smiled and said, "Same happens with you. Which guest room did you put her in?" And Kurenai led the way.

* * *

"RRRAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRR!" the oldest living Slayer roared out as she threw the very full dumpster at the demon at a very high speed. It helped that it was on wheels.

The demon, a Pholikall breed, snakelike demons with scales, two legs, and an upper torso and neck and head like an Anaconda Python, hissed in terror as it was thrown and then wedged between the alley wall and the dumpster. It was just passing through and unfortunately just as it had finished with an evening snack of a bus load of tourists when the Slayer happened upon it. Or more likely, to it.

Because Pholikall demons have a specific preference in their meals - young human children, between infancy and 10 years old - a mass of digestive feeler tentacles at the base between its legs also gives most Pholikalls a perverse pleasure while consuming their prey. The London Police would be listing the death of the St. Mary Preparatory Academy's Social Science Class field trip as a wild animal attack. Of course nobody would mention, in the cover-up, that the wild animals that could have done that were over 5,000 miles away in a tropical jungle somewhere.

Buffy had actually been walking back to her apartment she shared with Dawn, Willow and a few other Slayers from the Watcher Headquarters, foregoing the car that evening after the phone call from Faith. The entire mess was just so damn frustrating that she needed to cool off before going home to rest. She was not on patrol.

But then she saw the van, and smelled the blood, as well as something else. Something else that was too familiar to ignore. The sight inside the tour bus immediately sent her mind reeling, and the stench nearly caused her to puke on the spot. Instead, her eyes darkened as she felt the darkness within her roil, overwhelming her psyche in seconds. Whatever had done this was going to pay, and pay dearly.

Taking a breath, she immediately had the demon's scent and had tracked it down within five minutes. She didn't even consider the possibility that this demon might be too powerful for her, or even try to surprise it. She was too far gone by that point and where years ago - even when she'd been pretty experienced, but before her deaths, she might have erred on the side of caution and made sure she could take the demon as quickly and cleanly as possible - now she came roaring down the alley and hit the demon before it even knew what was happening.

From then on it was a blood bath. The Slayer tortured the evil creature, tossing it around the alley like a two year old with a doll it didn't like. When it tried to fight back, she snarled and started to beat on the thing even harder until it lapsed back into defending itself when she slowed again to make it pay some more.

When it was finally done the carcass lay in a pile of goo in the middle of a gore-covered alley. With blood, guts, and other various parts the walls and ground were painted. Buffy stood in the middle of it all, glaring hatefully down at what remained of the demon, only her hands and a single drop of blood on her cheek showing any sign of the demonic remains.

Unlike Faith, who was shocked by her rage, Buffy just looked down with satisfaction at the blood bath. Without a trace of shock, she turned around and walked away, feeling better.

* * *

Buffy entered her London apartment, not even bothering with taking her coat off, or reacting in the least bit to Willow and Kennedy making out on the couch. "Goodnight guys, I'm hitting the sack," she grumbled at them, quickly walking down the hall to her bedroom.

After she was already halfway there, she faintly heard Willow welcome her home, and then immediately go back to kissing her girlfriend. Anger and frustration suddenly welled up within the elder Slayer's mind, but was just as quickly pushed to the side and repressed down with all the rest of such impulses. Besides, Willow wasn't the only one that could relieve stress through sex with someone like Kennedy. It was just Willow happened to have more time for the relieving stress part, while Buffy seemed to be stuck with compiling it.

"Hey beautiful," a dark and dangerous voice spoke from the shadowy darkness of her bedroom. Buffy didn't even pause in her undressing.

"Not tonight, Adrian," she growled at him, her bloodshot eyes dull and dark in the low twilight. "There's a lot of shit going on right now and I'm not in the mood for your 'evil' little games tonight, all right!"

The creature known as the Immortal, also known to extremely few as Adrian Tepes, the half-human son of Dracula, and a lot older than most thought Dracula actually was, stepped out of the shadows and embraced the nude blonde from behind.

"Want to talk about it?" he whispered in her ear.

"No, I just want to sleep. I'm so tired . . ." her body was wearing down, it was more than obvious in the half-light of the room.

The Immortal smirked to himself, and then replaced the 'concerned boyfriend' mask upon his face and guided his Slayer to the bed. "Then rest, I'll take care of you. Trust me, I'll take care of you . . ." he proceeded with hypnotizing her into a deep and restful and relaxing sleep, and then calling upon his power, he stood over her and took in the status of her aura, his demonic reddish yellow eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Won't be long now, my beautiful Slayer," he whispered in the night. "Soon I will have a mate _/worthy/_ of being my queen, and having one of the only creatures that have ever existed that could ever match my own dark soul."

Resisting the urge to laugh maniacally, he instead joined her in bed, and continued raping her and her soul.


End file.
